


Interlude

by disgruntledmango



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Voldemort Wins, But it's pretty vanilla, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Pre-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Threats of Rape/Non-Con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2019-08-18 20:28:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 101,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16524083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgruntledmango/pseuds/disgruntledmango
Summary: After the fall of Hogwarts, Hermione makes her escape as an animagus, but not before Bellatrix curses her. Trapped in her animagus form, she meets a grieving Thor who has lost everything post Infinity War and becomes his companion. Threats of Rape/Non-Con only applies to chapter one, but there's no actual rape or non-con. This was also written Pre-Endgame.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is a cross post of my fic Interlude from FF.net under a different username (Totodile158). There's a chance this fic might get a little explicit later hence why I'm also posting it on AO3. Basically this is a HP and MCU Avengers crossover fic that takes place after Infinity War and The Battle of Hogwarts. Happy Reading!

The door to Hermione's prison cell flung open violently startling her awake.

 

"Oi! Food! Eat up Mudblood," a nameless guard grunted disdainfully. His face is obscured by the hood of his cloak and the dimness of the hallway. He tossed the tray on the floor with enough force to send it sliding across the small space. The meager contents of her breakfast porridge sloshed over the bowl splattering against the stone tiles.

 

Based on his gruff voice and his carelessness she guessed it was McNair. During the last five months of her captivity she has learned how to recognize her different captors based on their voices and mannerisms.

 

Dolohov was easy to recognize with his thick Russian accent. He liked to hang around after he dropped off her meals and whisper the depraved things he has wanted to do to her since he crossed paths with her in the Department of Mysteries three years ago. She tries not to visibly react to his words knowing that he finds her discomfort amusing.

 

Malfoy, ever the opportunistic bully, would sporadically pop in just to hurl his overused insults and tell her the gruesome fates her friends had suffered as each of them were executed one by one. From what she gathered most of her friends were tortured and raped before being burned at the stake. The quidditch pitch had been turned into a staging area for public execution where revels were being held periodically as a continuation of Voldemort's victory celebration.

 

Avery disturbed her the most. He would bring her a rag and a basin of water every week for her to wash because he likes to spy on her naked form while spitting degrading insults too filthy to repeat. She avoided bathing for the first month before she caved no longer able to stand the grimy feeling on her skin and the stench of her unwashed body trapped in her tiny unventilated prison cell. She would wash seated on the uncomfortable cold stone floor with her back towards him and as quickly as possible. At least they were forbidden from touching her by the Dark Lord. He personally placed charm so no one could cross the threshold. She suspected that it had to do with whatever magical rituals he had planned for her. Thus far she has remained unmolested.

 

These were the only interactions Hermione would get on a daily basis as each cell was warded with silencing spells to keep the prisoners from communicating with each other. The isolation and uncertainty were worse than any psychological torture. Based on what Malfoy had told her, she might be the only one left waiting for execution.

 

Hermione sighed and draped her arm over her forehead as she heard the door slam again signalling McNair's abrupt exit. She sat up and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

 

He was one of the few that didn't waste time taunting her. He already thought it was beneath him to interact with her much less deliver her food like a servant even if she was imprisoned. She supposed she should be thankful for the small things. For a prisoner of war she was treated surprisingly well.

She is fed three times a day. Having spent most of what would have been her seventh year hunting horcruxes in the English countryside with Harry and Ron, she had lost a significant amount of weight, and the regular meals had been good for her. Looking down at the length of her body, she had to admit that looked much healthier now that she was imprisoned. A far cry from the malnourished waif that she had been while on the run.

She sighed and stretched her arms over her head before swinging her feet to place them on the ground. She tried to suppress the shiver that traveled up her spine as her bare feet made contact with the stone floor. She never really acclimated to the drafty temperatures of the dungeons. She also found it odd that the Slytherin dormitories were down here when their house emblem was a snake. _What kind of snake would want to sleep in a cold, dark dungeon?_ She shook her head at that nonsensical thought. She had too much time to think and not enough to do.

 

In less than 2 strides, she had already crossed to the other wall of the cell. Her prison cell while small was clean at least. It had minimum furnishings consisting of a small cot just big enough for her to lay on and a charmed chamber pot in the corner. Her cell was located underground so there were no windows save for the small barred one on the wooden door. Without the sunlight to track the passage of time, Hermione had resorted to counting the number of breakfasts delivered, as it was always porridge, and marking them on the stone wall to keep track of time.

 

She picked up a small rock and etched a small white line to mark today's date. It was not a wholly accurate method as her first fews days during imprisonment were lost in a haze of grief, denial, and despair where she neither ate nor slept, but she estimates it's mid October. Her stomach clenched nervously knowing that her execution date approaches. It will be nearly 6 months after the final battle where her best friend Harry, the boy who lived, died. A tragic conclusion of the second Wizarding War.

 

Voldemort wasted no time claiming Hogwarts as his own domain. The new self-proclaimed King of Wizarding Britain would not settle for anything less. He beheaded Harry's corpse stringing his body along the iron wrought gates of the castle with his severed head mounted on a spike. The crows gathered and feasted on his decaying body for days. It was horrifying, barbaric, and very medieval. That was the intent. Voldemort declared his ascension to the throne as an imminent return to the old ways. A return to a time of truly great magic when the founders and Merlin were venerated even by muggles, and he intended to do that by resurrecting some very archaic practices including ritualized human sacrifice.

 

And that was why instead of being imprisoned in Azkaban with the rest of the war criminals, she was kept in the dungeons of Hogwarts. Not the Slytherin dormitories of course, she was treated well, but not that well. She was a prized pig to be slaughtered. A 'sacrificial virgin' so to speak.

 

There were actual prison cells located in a forgotten part of the castle that were used to punish the most disobedient students. Not surprisingly they haven't been in use for several centuries as such punishments were eventually deemed cruel and unusual even by wizarding standards.

 

But they were put to use again as they housed dozens of prisoners after the war. The trials were conducted within Hogwarts instead of the ministry with Voldemort as the sole arbitrator in place of the Wizamagot. No doubt it was another way to consolidate his power as the supreme ruler of Magical Britain. Days after the battle, Voldemort took Dumbledore's seat at the head table and doled out sentences in accordance to his newly established world order, which was of course dictated by blood purity.

 

Blood traitors were forgiven and pardoned from Azkaban as long as they pledged their fealty to Voldemort. Unless said blood traitor was female then she is relegated as a broodmare for the greater good of wizarding society of course. Ginny, Luna, and countless others that fought on the side of the light were forced into brothels without so much as a hearing or a trial. They were not even given the choice of Azkaban. Repopulation was top priority as Voldemort needed a bigger army of witches and wizards if he was finally going exert his dominion over muggles.

For that reason Half-bloods were spared and auctioned off to the wealthy families that supported the new king. They will be given the chance to prove themselves and their loyalty.

 

Muggleborns were not so lucky as they were to be killed, no exceptions. Some were fed to the acromantulas to ensure their loyalty. Some like Hermione were reserved for sacrificial killing. At her farce of a trial, Voldemort had sadistically decreed that she be sacrificed on the holiest of holidays at which his coronation will also take place. She is after all the best friend of the Boy Who Lived and thus deserved the honor of being sacrificed on Samhain.

 

Dark magic often required human sacrifice. She had learned that from her study of horcruxes. Power often comes at a cost through the bartering of human lives. Ancient peoples like the Mayans, Egyptians, Celts often sacrificed their own people for promises of a good crop yield or to curry favor of a god. Or they sacrifice their enemies to gain power for themselves. In some cultures it was an honor to be selected even. It is this type of magic Voldemort wanted to bring back. She suspected that was why no one was allowed to touch her. Voldemort had plans for her. It made Hermione sick knowing that her death will somehow make him more powerful.

 

In the days after her sentencing, she had felt powerless. She was still in shock from the aftermath of the battle. In the those first few days she mourned Harry, the fate of her friends, and the fate of the Wizarding World. She cried until she was empty and couldn't breathe. Once she was physically exhausted from crying, her mind finally settled. It was as if her body had purged all the sadness and rage inside, it left her hollow. That was when she decided she couldn't be a part of this. She wouldn't allow herself be made a spectacle as she was tortured to death.

 

Hermione began to refuse food and drink secretly by dumping all of it into the magically charmed chamber pot that vanished its contents. Starving to death alone in a cold damp cell was not a pleasant way to go. Any normal person would have gone insane by then. Hermione would have too if it were not what she found during her midday meal on the fifth day. Delirious from hunger, she didn't even hear or see anyone slip in the tray of food.

 

Hermione crawled over to the tray intent on disposing the contents the same way she had previously done when something green caught her eye. Hidden underneath a piece of stale bread was a leaf. No doubt it had been plucked from Sprout's greenhouse. She carefully picked it up almost not believing what she was seeing. Twirling the stem between her thumb and forefinger, she admired the veins on the leaf and the vibrant green color. For the first time since she kissed Ron, she smiled.

 

She now had a way out.

* * *

 

Five months later she can feel herself getting closer to her goal. But upon looking at her makeshift calendar that morning she could feel herself getting anxious. Choosing to forgo breakfast for now, she immediately begins her morning routine.

 

Extending her arms overhead while inhaling audibly she begins a series of sun salutations timed to her breaths. Her small prison cell limited what exercises she could do, so she stuck to mostly yoga and simple calisthenics. Completing one exercise after another she began to empty her mind in preparation for the hours of meditation she does everyday.

 

Wiping the sweat off her forehead, she took a sip of water from the small tin cup that came with her breakfast. Shoving the blanket aside on her unmade bed, she took a comfortable seated position on her cot and began meditating.

Meditation was a challenge for Hermione but she had made significant improvements over the course of five months. She had plenty of time to practice as a prisoner. Having always been a type A person all her life, her mind never seemed to want to slow or quiet. It was partially why she studied and read so much; her mind demanded to be occupied at all times. She found the idea of sitting and doing nothing rather boring and unproductive, so she never gave the practice of meditation much of a chance. But meditation was not so much emptying the mind completely, but a way to focus certain thoughts and ridding oneself of distractions. It was very helpful for practicing occlumency as well.

 

Even though her primary focus was achieving her animagus transformation.

Without her wand, her only hope of escape was transforming into an animagus. It worked for Sirius, and he had to contend with hundreds of dementors on an island surrounded by miles of water. It should be no problem for her. She idly wondered what form she was going to take as she tongued the mandrake leaf in her mouth. She was hoping for a creature that was small with the ability to fly like a sparrow or a dragonfly, so she could slip through the bars undetected.

 

She wonders if she'll turn into an otter since a person's patronus animal can also be their animagus form but not always. A person's animagus form is thought to be immutable. No wizard or witch had ever achieved more than one, but patronuses could change. _Tonks' had changed when she fell in love with Remus_ she thought sadly. Hermione had not been able to cast hers since the war.

 

While she had always excelled at charms, the patronus had always been her weakness. She could never summon hers with the same ease as Harry even with a wand. It didn't help that even her happiest memories were overshadowed by her experiences in war and her current circumstances. She wonders if she would ever be able to produce one again. The future seemed so bleak. Even if she were to escape, where would she go? The majority of the surviving Order members were locked in Azkaban.

 

Her parents have no memory of her. She had no formal muggle education beyond age 11. She would have to start over; leave Britain, maybe seek amnesty in America if she could even get that far.

 _One step at a time, Hermione._ Her execution day draws near and she cannot afford to entertain any thoughts of failure past or future. Taking a deep breath she began to clear her mind again. Animagus transformation is a type of wandless magic. There is no spell, no specific wand movement. It requires a higher level of command over one's magic, which is not easily achieved without a wand. Not many wizards and witches undertake this difficult endeavor and very few succeed. The Animagi Registry at the Ministry of Magic is short enough to fit into less than half a foot of parchment. But there has yet to be a spell or a piece of magic Hermione has not been able to perform.

 

Her transformation finally happened a few days later. In a moment of clarity her body began to change. It was an interesting sensation similar to polyjuice transformation. Her bones and joints loosened and she felt strangely fluid as her body expanded. Fur sprouted out of every inch of her skin and she could feel her nose elongate into a snout. Once the transformation was complete, she felt bigger. Much bigger. Her heart sank a bit. There goes the plan of slipping through the bars and flying away. She finally opened her eyes to look down at her huge paws. Out of the corner of her eye she spied a long bushy tail wagging back and forth. She didn't need a mirror to figure out that she had transformed into a wolf. She had seen the image in her mind, which triggered the transformation.

 

There was no way she was going to sneak out of the dungeons undetected. She'll have to ambush whoever comes down next and fight her way again she doesn't know how secure the castle is. If the Death Eaters are alerted of her escape they can easily seal off all the exits. Her animagus was too conspicuous to move through the castle without the Death Eaters noticing.

She could wait until her execution day. From what Malfoy had said the executions have been taking place out on the Quidditch Pitch. But everyone will be in attendance for her execution, which means she'll have to escape her captors as soon as they leave the castle and before they march her to the Quidditch Pitch and make a run for either the entrance gates or the forbidden forest.

 

She still had time to mull over her options. Over the next two days she practiced shifting in and out of her form. It was getting easier but it still took quite a bit of concentration especially transforming into her wolf form and staying in it for longer periods of time.

Turns out she didn't have as much time as she thought.

* * *

 

The door creaked opened, and Hermione stirred from her sleep. Still curled up in her cot with her back to the door, she felt like she had only fallen asleep just a few hours ago. Something was not right.

 

" _Hem, hem, hem."_

 

Her eyes snapped opened. Slowly she rolled over to meet the gaze of the most hated educator in Hogwarts' long history of DADA professors. Clad in her usual pink tweed matching set, Dolores Umbridge was standing above her cot looking down at her and smiling like the Grinch that fucking stole Christmas as she tapped her wand in her other hand impatiently.

 

Behind her stood the Carrows, whom she had not seen since her trial. It was then that Hermione realized with silent horror that the enchantment on her cell had been taken down. It was her time to go. But she wasn't ready yet. She still needed more practice, and she wasn't certain that she could take down Umbridge and both Carrows. She may have razor sharp teeth but they still had wands.

 

"I've been waiting for this day for a very long time," she said nastily. "On your feet now," Umbridge ordered.

 

Hermione glared at her but didn't move. She didn't take orders from toads.

 

"Tut, Tut, Tut, didn't your dirty muggle parents teach you any manners? To obey your betters?"

 

"You're not better than me." Hermione snapped sitting up on her cot.

 

"Oh, is that so? You were always such a willful disobedient child. Do I need to remind you of your place?"

 

"I'm just as much as witch as you are. I deserve a place in the wizarding world just as much as you do," she snarled. She was so sick of having to prove herself to these bigoted inbreds.

 

Umbridge slapped her. "What did I say about telling lies? Children, they never learn _!"_ She seethed her body vibrating with anger. "It's such a shame we're on such a tight schedule or I'd have you spending the next 3 hours writing lines until you bleed out and then maybe it will finally sink in."

 

Hermione winced cradling her cheek with her hand."You're a wretched woman! Dumbledore should have left you with those centaurs. You deserved everything that they did to you!" Hermione screamed angrily.

 

Umbridge's eyes darkened at the mention of that incident. Without any warning she snatched Hermione's hair and dragged her onto her feet. Hermione winced. "Let go of me!" She spat. When she tried to fight back, the shorter woman stabbed the tip of her wand into her throat. The Carrows rushed into the cell to assist her. With so many people inside the cramped space Hermione was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

 

This was her chance. It was now or never. She began to summon her animagus form. Suddenly Draco appeared and pushed past the Carrows. He grabbed her wrists and as he bent down to cuff them, he whispered into her ear, "not yet."

 

Hermione froze. Bewildered, she looked up at Draco, but his face gave nothing away.

 

"I'll take her Dolores. I need to speak with my mother anyways." He took her arm and hastily escorted her out of the cell without looking back.

 

Draco was practically dragging her through the halls of the dungeons.

 

"Wait! Where are you taking me?" She looked around and realized they were going deeper into the dungeons instead of towards the exit.

 

"Slytherin Dormitories," he answered tersely not bothering to look at her. "We have to get you ready first."

 

"Why are you hel-" Draco spun around and clapped his hand over her mouth.

 

"Not another word until we get to the dorms," he warned his eyes darting around making sure they were alone. She looked at him suspiciously but obeyed.

 

Moments later they were standing in front of the entrance to the Slytherin Dormitories.

 

"Jormungandr."

 

The grey stone wall slid open on his command.

 

Hermione had never been inside the Slytherin common room. She didn't have any Slytherin friends and due to that polyjuice mishap in her second year she missed her opportunity to go with Harry and Ron. The layout was similar to the Gryffindor common room but with a silver, green, and color scheme. It lacked the coziness of Gryffindor's room. The common room seemed cold even with the fireplace lit. Maybe it was due to the lack of students. She briefly wondered if Hogwarts was still a school as Draco led her to the girl's dormitory.

 

Draco reached down to turn the knob. "Wait," Hermione protested.

 

"What?" He huffed out impatiently. His hand resting on the doorknob.

 

"Why are you helping me?"

 

"Does it matter?"

 

"It does to me."

 

Draco sighed running his hand through his hair with his free hand. It was getting almost as long as Lucius'. "Potter saved my life. I'm returning the favor," he replied simply. The curtness in his voice indicating the conversation was over.

 

Hermione not satisfied with that answer was opening her mouth ready to fire a barrage of questions.

Just then the door opened.

 

"Mother," he greeted respectfully. "All yours, I'll be waiting outside," Draco said as he pushed her inside and shut the door behind her.

 

"Come now Miss Granger. Let's get you ready." There was not a trace of animosity in her voice. She gave her a small smile as if they weren't enemies on different sides of the war. As if she didn't stand idly by and watch her sister torture her until she bled all over her polished floors.

 

Hermione looked at her warily, but the Lady Malfoy wasted no time in grabbing her arm and tugging her into the bathroom where a bath awaited her. She took out a key and uncuffed her wrists.

 

"Take off your clothes and get into the tub, we don't have much time if we are going to get you cleaned and ready. And from the looks of you, I have much work to do." The Malfoy matron looked her up and down. Hermione would have been offended had she not been so confused at that situation.

 

"Why are you doing this?" The younger woman asked.

 

"I'll explain while you undress. We don't have much time," she repeated. Then she turned her back to give her a little privacy. "I have to prepare you for the ritual which includes cleansing your body and anointed it with oil." She then prattled on about a number of other things she must do in order to make her look presentable, a worthy sacrifice.

 

Hermione had so many questions, but she nodded and stripped off her standard prison tunic and trousers she was given on her first day as prisoner and stepped into the tub. The warm water was heavenly and she almost moaned in pleasure as it was her first bath in months.

 

"We were hoping for your sake and ours that your animagus form would be small enough to fit through the prison bars, but that clearly is not the case."

 

Realization dawned on her. "It was you," she gasped. "You slipped me that Mandrake Leaf!"

 

Narcissa hummed in affirmation as she busied herself with washing her hair.

 

Hermione's eyes narrowed."Why are you helping me?"

 

"Your friend saved Draco's life. You can think of us however you want. We may be snakes, but Malfoys always pay their debts," she said primly while she worked the shampoo into her hair.

 

"Is that all?" Hermione flinched as the older woman tugged on her hair.

 

Narcissa sighed and stilled her hands which were still tangled in her messy hair.. "I stood by when you were just a child and watched my sister torture you. I stood by and watched Harry Potter die. When I heard what they had planned for you I knew I had to intervene."

 

Hermione hesitated before she asked, "what do they have planned for me?"

 

Narcissa started rinsing her hair debating with herself on whether to tell the girl what was in store for her should she fail to escape.

 

"Here, take this sponge and start washing your body." The woman was efficient; she had to admit.

 

Hermione took the sponge and lathered it up with soap. It smelled like roses.

 

"What do you know about Old World Pagan Rituals?" Narcissa asked.

 

"I know that any spell or ritual that requires human sacrifice is dark magic," Hermione stated bluntly.

 

"Right, but do you know the specific rituals involved?"

 

Hermione shook her head no.

 

"Right now it is 10:45 pm, October 30, 1998," she said glancing over at the clock on the opposite wall.

 

"At midnight the celebrations of Samhain will begin. The celebration lasts 2 days ending on the evening of November 1st. That is when you will be killed."

 

"But what happens between now and then? Why am I getting ready so early?"

 

"Because you are the entertainment."

 

Hermione felt sick suddenly. She thought of Avery watching her bathe and Dolohov's threats and her stomach turned.

 

"You will be passed around to his most loyal and esteemed followers. Tents have been set up out on the quidditch pitch for each one of them. You'll be stripped and paraded around first. They'll give you a special potion. One that makes you more amenable to their advances and you'll visit each tent in rounds. At the end you'll be strapped down to the stone dais where the new King will cut out your tongue, your eyes, and then your heart in that order. Then your body will be burned as we chant the sacred spells to harvest the power of your soul. You are a reward for his followers. Your body and power will be gifted to them."

 

"Is that what happened to my friends?" Hermione asked quietly tears threatening to spill. Draco didn't mention this part.

 

"Most of your friends were burned at the stake purely for the King's entertainment."

 

"Your ritual is different," Narcissa continued, "At your trial a spell was performed without your knowledge. They determined that you were," she paused to find the right word, "untouched."

 

Hermione blushed. She had hoped to lose her virginity to Ron, but there were things that got in the way. Viktor, Lavender, the horcrux hunt, Ron abandoning the horcrux hunt, the battle. There was never a right moment. _And now there won't ever be one_. Hermione wiped the tears from her cheeks.

 

"Was that why I was spared for so long?"

"Yes, this type of magic only worked on Samhain. It requires a virgin. Every man you visit on this day will get a piece of your power."

 

"That's why no one was allowed to touch me."

 

"Yes, but that was not the only reason Hermione. You're an exceptionally powerful witch. You don't even realize it. The sheer amount of power within you that you don't even have access yet is astounding. Many don't believe you deserve such power because you are a muggleborn."

 

Hermione snorted, "is this why I'm being killed and my power harvested? Your King wouldn't think to spare me and persuade me to join his cause?"

 

"Would you?" Narcissa asked despite knowing the answer.

 

"Never."

 

Narcissa finished washing her hair and drained the tub. She handed a towel to Hermione.

 

"Now let's talk escape plans. Draco tells me your animagus is a wolf."

 

Hermione silently cursed herself. She thought she had been careful. "Yes."

 

"Come over here and lay on the bench."

 

Gripping the towel to her chest she laid on the bench awaiting further instructions.

 

Narcissa didn't give any warning before she started stripping the hair from her body.

 

"Ouch!" Her entire body recoiled as the hair was torn from her right leg.

 

"I assure you this is not as painful as me removing your hair by hand. It's much quicker too."

 

"Umbridge and the Carrows will be escorting you to the Quidditch Pitch. Once you get outside you need to transform and run into the Forbidden Forest."

 

"Why there? Why not the gates?"

 

"You'll be followed if you go to the gates and easily caught. The King has not yet conquered the Forbidden Forest. It is still under the protection of the Centaurs for now. No human is allowed in, but you should be safe as long as you remain in your wolf form. From there just travel North until you reach the base of the mountains. There should be muggle settlements along the mountains Should you fail, Draco and I cannot help you," she said gravely.

 

Hermione understood. They were enemies after all.

 

Narcissa finished the hair removal. "Sit up," Narcissa commanded as she grabbed a hairbrush.

 

Thankfully Hermione's hair was much more manageable wet and she wasted no time in brushing and drying her hair.

Next Narcissa asked her to remove the towel so she could apply the oil. Hermione crossed her arms over her chest feeling self conscious. It felt weird to be touched after not having any physical contact for so long. She also burned some incense and waved over her body. The preparation must be fully completed to not draw any suspicion if Hermione was going to escape.

 

"We're finished here. Let's get you dressed." Narcissa got up and reached into the wardrobe for a grecian style dress. She helped her into the gown. It was white with a neckline cut low and a slit ending mid thigh. It would have been a lovely dress had it not been so sheer and revealing.

 

Hermione huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. Here she was all dressed up with nowhere to go except to her death. The material was so thin that it was almost see through.

 

"Just be glad you're allowed to wear something. Some of the prisoners were marched to their death naked," Narcissa said noticing her discomfort.

 

Narcissa took a step back and looked at the girl. _Pretty and innocent_. "Now remember, you only have one chance." She bound her hands in a thick rope but left it loose enough for her to slip through.

 

"Good luck."

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

The sky was already dark with thick clouds of smoke coming from the quidditch pitch when she stepped outside of the castle. The smell of burning bodies lingered ominously in the air. Her first breath of fresh air in nearly six months and it was tainted with death. She could hear people screaming in the distance. It was bringing back memories of the battle which were still fresh in her mind. Apparently, the revel had already started. All that was missing was her, the main act. She pulled her bound hands into her chest shivering from the anticipation and the cold.

 

"What are you waiting for mudblood?! Move!" Amycus ordered harshly. She didn't miss the way he leered at her body as he manhandled her. He shoved her forward onto the grass. The ground was surprisingly dry underneath her bare feet. It was fall now in Scotland. Alecto grabbed her arm marching her towards the quidditch pitch. Hermione dragged her feet reluctant to walk to her doom. Umbridge strolled ahead of them with a barely suppressed glee and a pep to her step. The woman had the smile of a psychopath. She loved execution days. It was like Christmas because the captives were getting exactly what they deserved for being such badly behaved little witches and wizards.

 

Hermione waited until they were a safe distance from the castle. Clearing her head, she began to tap into her magic to summon her animagus form. She could feel the familiar ripples of magic traveling along her body. Suddenly she lurched forward feigning sickness.

 

"I feel sick," she lied and she collapsed onto the grass almost taking Alecto with her. It was easy enough to fake. She was nervous as hell. If this didn't work the next 48 hours were going to be nothing but rape and torture followed by a most painful death. That was enough for her to break out in a cold sweat and nearly lose her dinner.

 

"What the fuck is wrong with you? GET UP!" Amycus rounded her and grabbed her other arm roughly trying to pull her up to her feet.

 

"What is going on here?" Umbridge had turned around impatiently. Dolores Umbridge is a punctual woman. She is never late to anything: work, hair appointments, department meetings, sacrificial killings.

 

"I think there might be something wrong... I can't... I can't walk," Hermione fibbed dramatically as she clung to the ground.

 

"If you don't walk, I'll make you," Umbridge threatened imperiously, as in she meant to use the imperius curse on her. Then her irate expression changed to one of alarm and surprise as the witch in front began to shape-shift.

 

Before any of them could draw their wands and attack, Hermione broke free of the Carrows. The rope that bound her hands laid on the ground discarded. She lunged forward going for the kill. Clamping down on Umbridge's neck she tore out the hated woman's throat.

 

Not bothering to dispatch her other two captors, Hermione ran for the trees like her life depended on it because it did.

 

"Stop her!" shouted Amycus as he pointed his wand to the sky firing a red flare to alert the other Death Eaters.

 

The Death Eaters acted swiftly to Amycus' call giving chase to the runaway prisoner.

 

She stole a quick glance back. There were at least five behind her shouting and throwing hexes at her.

 

"She's heading for the forest!"

 

"Don't let her go past the treeline!"

 

 _Only a little further to go._  She could see the burnt ruins of Hagrid's hut at the edge of the forest.

 

Hermione let out a surprised yelp as a spell hit her. The force of impact caused her to trip and barrel into the ground. Quickly, she scrambled onto her feet and sprinted until she safely crossed the forest threshold. Collapsing onto the soft forest ground, she knew she could not rest for long. She had been hit with a hex, but it looked like she was unharmed. Maybe the spell was intended to trip her. The Death Eaters needed her alive and not too badly harmed for the ritual after all.

 

She was thankful for the cover of darkness the forest provided, but she had to keep moving. The forbidden forest was not safe either. It was crawling with magical creatures and some were not so friendly. Hermione looked up to the sky. Luckily the smoke had stayed within the clearing so she could see the stars. Spying Polaris, the North Star, she began her trek through the forest.  _Those 6 years of Astronomy paid off at least_  she thought to herself.

* * *

 

"We shouldn't be here Bellatrix," Dolohov warned. The gathered Death Eaters were hovering on the edge of the forest.

 

"I'm not afraid of some half-breeds! The King will have our heads if we don't capture her," Bellatrix sneered.

 

"She's right. The longer we wait the further away she gets. I can still smell her. We should keep going," said Fenrir sniffing the air.

 

Bellatrix cackled, "well, it's a good thing I hexed her then."

 

"What sort of spell, Bella?" Alecto asked puzzled. Whatever it was did not stop the girl from escaping.

 

"A spell to trap her in that form. I thought it might be fun to hunt her down like an animal," Bellatrix replied. She let out a giggle that just sounded wrong.

 

"Are you serious Lestrange? Do you know how long I've been waiting to fuck that mudblood? I'm not fucking some animal!" Avery interjected furiously.

 

"Fine, more for me then," Fenrir grinned savagely.

 

"It's a fitting punishment for her being an unregistered animagus. That's how she escaped after all. Besides, it's not fair that you boys get to have all the fun," Bellatrix pouted. She was put out by the fact that Voldemort was specifically rewarding his male followers by giving them a virginal fuck toy.  _It was hard being a female Death Eater sometimes_  Bellatrix lamented. It was such a boy's club.

 

"What's the countercurse?" Dolohov demanded. He had been waiting to fuck the mudblood since she was sixteen. If anyone was impatient, it was him.

 

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, I'm not telling you," Bellatrix waggled her finger in front of Dolohov's face. "Besides we haven't even found her yet."

 

"Well we better find her fast before the King gets wind of this. She was supposed to be at the pitch half an hour ago!" exclaimed Amycus

 

"And whose fault is it that she escaped?" Bellatrix asked snidely. "Besides, it's not like she can go anywhere outside the forest. She's trapped in a wolf's body unable to speak. Those stupid muggles would shoot her dead befo-"

 

"What does that matter? We still have to find her and bring her back alive. NOW," Amycus cut in. Why was no one else treating this like an emergency?

 

Bellatrix shot him a glare. She hated being interrupted. "Don't you see? The King will lay claim on this forest sooner or later. He just needs to get rid of those filthy half-breeds. Once we have control of the forest we can easily find her."

 

"But it's Samhain. We have to sacrifice her within the next 48 hours or else the ritual won't work," Dolohov snapped impatiently.

 

"Well then, I guess you'll just have to wait until next year to fuck your little mudblood," Bellatrix smiled sweetly, "I did us all a favor by hitting her with that spell. She is effectively trapped."

 

"Yeah, well. You couldn't have thrown a petrificus totalus instead?" Avery asked annoyed.

 

"At least my spell hit its mark," Bellatrix huffed indignantly.

 

"Wait," Dolohov interrupted. He held up his hand to silence everyone. "Do you hear that?"

 

There was a faint sound of trampling hooves that was getting progressively louder.

 

Everybody stilled.

 

"Centaurs! They've discovered us!" Amycus cried.

 

"Oh Carrow, you're such a coward," Bellatrix drawled rolling her eyes. She was itching for a fight. "These half-breeds need to be dealt with sooner or later."

 

She smiled maliciously as she turned to the direction of the sound casting a protego just in time to deflect the first barrage of arrows.

* * *

 

Hermione was tired; she had been walking for hours. She still had the taste of Umbridge in her mouth.  _Yuck_. On top of that she was lost. The further she traveled into the forest, the closer the trees grew together. Their branches tangled together obscuring the sky. Thankfully the moon was bright enough and some of the light filtered through the trees, but she could no longer see the stars. She wondered how animals knew where to go when they migrated in droves. It was like they had some sort of internal compass. Birds were tuned to Earth's magnetic fields, but what about wolves?

 

Her quiet pondering was interrupted by the sound of approaching voices. She quickly hid underneath a fallen tree. Her heart beating rapidly,  _they have caught up_ she thought with dread.

 

"Are the preparations ready? We must leave tonight."

 

"Yes. Are you sure this is the right decision Magorian? For us, for our clan?"

 

 _Magorian!_ Hermione had met him before. The day she lured Umbridge into the forest. She was definitely in Centaur territory now.

 

"The veil is thinnest on this day. If we are to cross over we must do it now."

 

"But this is our home," his companion protested.

 

"You seem to forget where we come from, Bane."

 

"I have not," Bane disagreed adamantly, "but when I looked to the stars through the veil to our world, I saw a great calamity."

 

"Aye, I know what you speak of my friend, and I understand your apprehension, but that great calamity restored the balance of the universe."

 

Hermione tried not to make a sound as she continued to eavesdrop on their cryptic conversation. Centaurs were such mysterious creatures drawing their source of magic primarily from divination and astronomy. Hermione respected all magical creatures, but centaurs spoke in the language of prophecy, which no one outside of their species could really understand. But it seemed that whatever they were talking about had already happened, if only they could just be less vague about what it was. Hermione thought in annoyance.

 

"Yes, the balance was restored but in a manner that was so sudden and unnatural, I fea-"

 

Bane's thought was cut off suddenly by the sound of galloping hoof beats fast approaching them.

 

"Magorian! Bane! Come quick! We're under attack!" A group of armed centaurs halted in front of their clan leader.

 

"What? Where?!" their leader bellowed in outrage.

 

"Over by the forest edge where the giant's home once stood. Those that call themselves the Death Eaters gathered at the forest edge. Ronan opened fire and now a battle is underway. We need your help!"

 

Nothing more was said as the centaurs galloped away to aid their brethren. Hermione relaxed. The adrenaline was fading now, and she was getting tired. She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up hours later.

 

When she awoke it was early morning. A fog had settled onto the forest ground. Even in daylight the forbidden forest was creepy. Without the night sky, she had no idea which direction to go. She sorely missed her wand. A point me spell would solve all her problems right now.

 

She began walking in the direction she was heading the night before. The forest was quiet. It was strange to be walking in such open space after being confined to her cell for so long. It made her feel vulnerable.

 

She wondered what happened between the centaurs and the Death Eaters. She was grateful the diversion. It bought her some time to get away.

 

She stopped in her tracks. Her paw was caught in something sticky on the ground. She tensed,  _acromantulas!_  She had entered a clearing that resembled a nest, but it appeared to be abandoned. It was just her luck to wander into Aragog's old home. Hermione had been petrified in her second year, but Ron and Harry described what had happened in harrowing detail after they decided to "follow the spiders." It was pure luck they escaped as Aragog had hundreds of offspring. They had swarmed Hogwarts during the battle killing indiscriminately. Panicking, she quickly extracted her paw from the sticky substance and backed away.

 

That was before something on the ground caught her eye. The object was so shiny that it was visible through the fog. There laying discarded on the floor of the forest was a golden snitch. She looked closer and saw the familiar inscription.  _It was_   _Harry's snitch. He was here._ Her chest tightened at the thought of her best friend. She never got to say goodbye to him.

 

As if it sensed her presence, the snitch hovered off the ground. Its golden wings flitted about as it buzzed quietly around Hermione's head then it abruptly flew away. Hermione didn't even need to turn around to know that she wasn't alone anymore. She could feel hundreds of eyes watching her. Not wasting another second, she took off full speed after the snitch.

* * *

 

Thor knelt down onto the ground. The grass beneath him was wet with the moisture from the morning mist that had yet to abate. It soaked into his leather trousers leaving dark patches. The sun was hiding behind the clouds reluctant to come out. It was quiet save for the sounds of the sea. Peaceful even. Sitting here alone in the place where his father died was not the God of Thunder but a broken man.

 

Five months have passed since the battle with Thanos. The battle in which he had lost. The ensuing chaos and confusion that had followed was finally subsiding, and the world was starting to move on. Mass funerals had been held for those that disappeared. There were no bodies to bury, but it allowed the survivors to properly mourn. It had been so random and so sudden. Some grieved for the loss of their families, friends, lovers, while others tortured themselves with guilt wondering why they were spared wishing to join their loved ones on the other side.

 

But Thor did not share in their grief for he had lost everything long before Thanos snapped his fingers and half the universe disappeared.

 

While the world mourned, Thor and the remaining Avengers did their part by restoring order. They helped cleared the abandoned cars that littered the roads and freeways so people could go back to work. They quelled uprisings as there were always opportunists that capitalized on times of uncertainty by spreading violence, fear, and dissent to advance their agenda. Numerous religious zealots preaching about the second coming and the occasional cult leader rallying followers to commit mass suicide for the coming apocalypse. Not to mention looting, there was a ton of looting. The world had been in chaos and it needed the Avengers more than ever.

 

When things looked like they were finally settling down, Thor bid the Avengers goodbye promising to keep in touch before disappearing into the sky. At first he had wanted to go after Thanos. The Titan had taken everything from him, his people, Loki. Stormbreaker gave him access to the bifrost. He could chase Thanos to the ends of the universe if he wanted to. He certainly had the time. At 1500 years old, he was still young for an Aesir. He didn't really have anything to lose in this quest for vengeance, but he didn't have anything to gain either. His people were gone. His planet destroyed. His mother, father, brother, his friends were all dead now. He had nothing left to fight for.

 

So he laid down Stormbreaker and for the first time in his life, he stopped fighting. Not long after, Thor found himself in Norway. The same place where his father faded into the other world. It was exactly as he remembered it: beautiful, peaceful, and quiet. At one time he dared to dream that this place could be the new Asgard. His father had shared that hope.

 

The area was mostly wilderness with next to no inhabitants. In a small wooded area near the cliffs he found an abandoned cottage that he had restored and settled in. He liked to imagine that his father lived here peacefully during his final days unburdened by the responsibility of the crown. He hunted his own food and swam in the ocean nearly every day. He swam laps around the British Isles and sometimes swam as far as Greenland.

 

But today was October 31st and Thor decided to skip his morning swim and pay respect to his father instead. He had learned that on Earth, they celebrated the dead on the last day of October, and he wanted to not just honor his father, but also his mother, Loki, his brothers in arms, Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral. His list of dead to honor was far too long.

 

On Asgard the dead were honored for days with many festivities. Yes there is mourning, but there is celebration too. The passing to the afterlife whether it be Hel or Valhalla was always a momentous occasion and was treated as such. There were great big feasts with lots of free flowing mead followed by dancing and music. Thor was a little ashamed he came empty handed, but he supposed he had the entire day. He could go into the forest later and slay an elk and make an offering later in the evening. But for now he wanted to speak with his father.

 

"It has been a while since we last spoke father," Thor began. He gazed up towards the sky as if that was where Odin was.

 

"So much has happened since then. I was able to kill Hela, but I had to destroy Asgard." He laughed bitterly at the irony.

 

"I saved our people though, with Loki's help. He came through just in time with a spaceship big enough to carry all of us. You would have been proud. You and mother both. He had come a long way from just being the God of Mischief." Thor smiled at the memory of his brother.

 

"But none of that mattered because months later we came across Thanos. He...:" Thor dropped his gaze to the ground. He struggled to form his next words. His throat felt tight with grief.

 

"Killed many of us. Including Loki."

 

Taking a deep breath Thor continued recounting the events that followed after he was rescued. It was almost cathartic in a way to recite everything that had happened as simple facts. Thor lost track of time during his retelling. When he finally finished he stood up and turned to make his way down to the cottage. He thought it was strange that the mist from the morning had not let up like it normally did as the day progressed, but thickened into a fog. The further down the slope he went, the denser the fog became until it was practically opaque.

 

As a warrior, Thor had developed a sixth sense alerting him to danger. His heightened Asgardian hearing picked up the sound of trampling feet in the distance. In less than a second his outreached hand summoned Stormbreaker and was fully clad in his armor.

* * *

 

Hermione ran as fast as she could. She was trying not to trip on anything terrified because she could barely see in front of her. The fog had grown thicker. It was like driving at night without headlights or in this case fog lights, so she just followed the snitch. Those things were charmed to dodge and evade capture. If only the blasted fog would just lift.

 

She got her wish. Suddenly the fog parted and in a clearing 500 feet in front of her stood an intimidating man dressed in silver and grey armor wielding a battle axe. He had a defensive stance indicating that he was choosing the fight over flee option.  _Oh my god he probably thinks I'm going to attack him!_  Hermione needed to change back into her human form and quick before he hacks her in half. She also needed to warn him about the acromantulas on her tail. She tried to shift but nothing happened. She tried again. Still nothing. Changing plans she veered off course to avoid him altogether.

 

In the distance, Thor could make out a brown wolf running full speed. At first it looked like it was heading straight towards him, but then it changed the angle of its trajectory as soon as it saw him. Not that Thor had to worry about a little brown wolf when chasing after it was a giant spider. With one swing of his axe he subdued the creature. It let out an unpleasant shriek as it crumbled to the ground. The wolf ran past him grateful for the save.

 

That was good and everything except more came. It was like a dam broke and a river made of giant hairy spiders poured out of every hole. They just kept coming. He summoned his lightning and fried several of them in the vicinity. The lightning flashed through the fog like a grounded thunderstorm. Thor's heart was pounding. It had been too long since he had engaged in battle, and he missed it. He continued to slay beast after beast relishing in the screams of the fallen creatures. The smell of singed hair and flesh polluted the air around him. He could feel the lightning surging through his fingertips.

 

Hermione watched enraptured as the strange man battled the horde of spiders. Her jaw dropped when he jumped 20 feet into the air. Using his axe as a conductor he brought lightning down onto his enemies with such force she felt the ground move. On more than one occasion she saw him shoot lightning out of his hands. Hermione knew that he was no muggle, but she didn't think he was like her either. He moved through the battlefield like water, fluid and swift cutting down his foes with a practiced grace that was both deadly and beautiful to behold. It was inhuman, his strength, his speed, his movements. She continued to watch in shock and awe as he weaved through the fog slashing through the monsters effortlessly as his red cape billowed behind him.

 

The onslaught continued and the bodies piled up. Thor surveyed the carnage in front of him. It was an absolute massacre. There had to be at least 30 or 40 carcasses but he couldn't be certain because of the fog. He heard a noise behind him. Turning around he was surprised to see the wolf standing five feet away from him. Hermione froze when she met his gaze.  _Now would be a good time to run since you can't change back!_  Hermione screamed in her head. Never before had she realized that she took the gift of speech for granted. But Thor didn't look at her with any any sort of ill will. He had lowered his axe by his side as he studied her curiously.

 

Hermione thought since she couldn't communicate verbally, she'll have to do it non-verbally. Rolling onto her back she bared her stomach. She had seen enough dogs do that. It was the universal sign of submission for canines. Of course in doing so she also accidentally flashed her lady parts at him, so she quickly rolled back over and laid down instead. Animal or not Hermione Granger still had some propriety. Lucky for her, wolves cannot blush.

 

If Thor was bothered by that strange behavior he didn't show it. Wolves were rare. They were an endangered species on earth. In the five months Thor had lived here, he saw maybe 2 and neither of them looked like the one standing before him. They had dark grey fur with white undercoats. This one had a thick tawny coat with matching honeyed, brown eyes. It was the eyes that intrigued Thor the most. It almost reminded him of looking into Sleipnir's eyes. They carried intelligence and seemed human almost. And from the looks of it, the wolf was female.

 

While Thor was momentarily distracted by the wolf's reappearance, one last acromantula staggered out of the fog. Hermione let out a bark to warn Thor a little too late. The giant spider crushed him to the ground pinning his arms. It shrieked and spewed venom everywhere as it tried to sink its fangs into Thor.

 

Hermione jumped onto the spider's back and sank her teeth into its hard exoskeleton head. The crunch combined with the taste made her cringe inwardly. It was disgusting. She must have punctured some kind of sack because the head started leaking fluid that coated the inside of her acromantula screamed and bucked her off. She flew off the back and rolled onto the ground. Her attack was enough of a distraction for Thor to gain the upper hand. He freed his arm and punched through its body cavity with a sickening crunch.

 

Thor tossed the dead spider off him like it was a blanket. He was going to have to tell the Avengers about this. He looked around his eyes searching for the brown wolf. To his disappointment it was nowhere to be found.

 

Checking around to make sure that there were no more live spiders, he grabbed a dead spider carcass and summoned the bifrost to take him to the Avengers Compound in upstate New York.

* * *

 

"You've been working for hours." The door slid close with a hiss. Natasha made her way across the lab. "You need to eat. I made your favorite." She set down a plate of sandwiches on the lab bench. Sandwiches were the only food Natasha knew how to make, so naturally they became Bruce's favorite food.

 

She wrapped her arms around Bruce's waist. Resting her cheek on his shoulder she looked up at him adoringly. She knew better than to sneak up on him, which was why the spy always announced her presence not wanting to startle him or the Other Guy.

 

Bruce smiled and kissed her softly. "Thank you. You are too good to me, Nat."

 

He was in the middle of tinkering with a tracking device he was using to locate Tony. It had been six months since his disappearance and Bruce was beginning to give up hope of ever finding him.

 

"You're going to find him you know." That was the downside of dating a world class assassin and spy. She could read his face like an open book.

 

"I don't know Nat, he's been gone for almost six months. What if he isn't even alive anymore?" He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had been working for six hours straight.

 

"Stark has cheated death more than anyone I've ever known," Natasha quipped.

 

"Besides me of course," she added. Her job was very dangerous. She grabbed a sandwich and started eating. "And you know he would never give up on you. So don't give up on him."

 

"Thor has arrived at the Avengers Compound. Should I tell him where you are?" the AI interrupted. Years later and it was still strange to hear a voice that wasn't Jarvis. It only reminded the Avengers of the friend they had lost.

 

Bruce and Natasha exchanged looks. "Yeah, tell him I'm in the lab. Alert Rogers and Barton and tell them to meet us in here too." Bruce took a bite of his sandwich. Ham and cheese was his favorite. Bruce Banner was a complicated man, but he liked the simple things.

* * *

 

Bruce and Natasha turned expectantly when they heard the door slide open. In walked Thor with the giant spider carcass in tow. Bruce was so startled, he jumped backwards knocking some his instruments off the table. Natasha was surprised and disgusted but maintained her composure. Thor wordlessly plunked the eight legged abomination onto an empty lab bench, which skid against the floor on impact.

 

"What is that?! Is that a giant spider?" The scientist hadn't seen or heard from Thor in weeks and judging by the kill he just brought in, he must have been busy.

 

"I take it by your reaction that this is not a creature native to your realm." One of the things Thor had noticed when he first visited Midgard was the surprising lack of monsters. It would explain why the mortals were so prolific what without any natural predators aside from themselves.

 

"No, we have those here, but they're smaller. Waaaay smaller. Small enough to kill with a shoe." Bruce examined the corpse tentatively from a distance worried that it was not as dead as it looked.

 

"Where did you even find that?" Natasha asked. She eyed the giant spider warily. Even Natasha whose code name was Black Widow was slightly disturbed. There were some things that should not grow to the size of cars.

 

"Norway. I had been living there during the last month."

 

"You found that here? On earth?" Bruce asked in disbelief. He thought it was an alien creature Thor found on one of his space adventures. Now he realized the god never even left earth. He was here the entire time and that worried Bruce a little. Ever since the battle with Thanos, Thor had been uncharacteristically distant. He knew the god blamed himself even though it was a team loss.

 

Just then the door opened again and Clint walked in with Steve following him close behind. The compound must have alerted everyone to his arrival.

 

"Hey man, where ya be -JESUS! '' Startled, the archer immediately drew his bow and aimed it at the corpse. He hated spiders. He thought the acceptable number of legs was an even number between two and four and disliked anything with more than 2 eyes. "Is that.. Is that a giant spider?!"

 

"Yes, I found it this morning. A great fog had settled on the field near the cliffs and these creatures came out of it in waves, but I was able to defeat all of them. There must have been at least 3 or 4 dozen," Thor stated casually without bragging.

 

"There was more than one?" Clint asked in horror. This sounded like a scene from a fucking Stephen King novel. "And this was where?" He needed to know in order to put it on his mental list of places to nuke with Stark's weapons later.

 

"Norway," Bruce answered hoping to move the conversation along.

 

"What were you doing there?" Steve asked totally disappointing Bruce, but like Bruce he was concerned. He had always considered Thor his friend and these last few years were not kind to him. With his family and people gone, Thor had no one left. A position Steve was in when he woke up from his deep sleep nearly a decade ago. He didn't like the idea of his friend being alone.

 

"After everything was settled here, I traveled to Norway. It was the last place I saw my father before he ascended to Valhalla. Loki had banished him to Earth, and he chose to live out his days there. I wanted to be close to him again," Thor confessed.

 

No one really knew how to respond. They were not used to seeing someone as powerful as Thor so vulnerable. Only Clint had seen him like that once and that was during his exile as a mortal in New Mexico.

 

"It was also the place where I first met Hela, my secret half-sister. She was banished and imprisoned by my father before I was born for killing everyone in the palace in an attempt to take the throne. A great big hole had opened up where she had escaped from her prison. Then she tried to kill Loki and I," Thor continued.  _That was the last time his family was together sans Frigga because she had already passed_. He thought but didn't want to say out loud.

 

"Yeah, uh, that's rough…" Clint murmured not really knowing what to say. They had all long given up on trying to make sense of Thor's Game of Thrones-esque family antics.

 

"You said your sister came out of some sort of dimensional hole?" Natasha interrupted before they continued further on this tangent that is Thor's complicated personal life."Do you think those came from wherever place your sister came from too?"

 

"I do not know. It is possible. It could be another Convergence, but that is unlikely. Such occurrences are rare and infrequent. I was hoping you could find out," Thor said looking pointedly at Bruce.

 

Bruce supposed he could pause his fruitless search of Tony and study the creature. He was about to suggest that they contact Dr. Jane Foster,  _no Dr. Jane Foster-Kincaid_ , he corrected, but he decided now was not the time to bring up Thor's ex even if she had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for her work on the Convergence, which she shared with her mentor Dr. Erik Selvig.

 

"There could be more. We should go back there and make sure. The last thing we need is an outbreak of man eating spiders," Steve said. He was the only one unperturbed by the arachnid's presence. He stopped being surprised by anything ever since he woke up from the ice.

 

"We need to clean up the area too. If you say there's at least 40 or 50 dead we should take one of the cargo carriers instead of the quinjet. We'll bring them back so Bruce can have a larger sample size. And we'll figure out how to dispose of the rest," Natasha added.

 

"I'll stay here and get to work on dissecting the body to see if I can find any clues," Bruce offered as he poked the body a few times with one of his tools to make sure it was really dead before everyone left him alone with it. Bruce was more than happy to stay behind and let the rest go spider hunting. He had been feeling rather vulnerable ever since the Hulk went on strike.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione gratefully lapped up the cool water from the creek. Since her escape from Hogwarts, she had ripped the throat out of her former DADA professor and also sunk her teeth into the head of an acromantula. She still had bits of exoskeleton stuck in her teeth. Hermione was the proud daughter of two dentists. Her parents would be horrified right now. Of course they would be horrified at the other things she had done trying to win the war especially the part where she erased their memories of their only daughter.

 

Hermione sank to the ground. She was exhausted, lost, and stuck in her wolf form.  _The hex, it must have been that hex._ She did not have the faintest idea as to how to undo it. She tried to cast a finite incantatem, but it was difficult to do nonverbally without a wand while in her animagus form. She'll have to come up with something else to try once she gets to a safer place.

 

 _Where am I?_  Narcissa had told her to head toward the mountains. Evidently, she must have made a few wrong turns when she was trying to escape the acromantulas because she found herself cliffside overlooking the ocean. She could feel the soft, salty breeze ruffling her fur as she scanned her surroundings. The fog had finally subsided revealing lush, green grasslands for miles around. She had made it out of the forbidden forest alive, but to her disappointment there weren't any signs of civilization nearby. So far the only person she had seen was that terrifying man in the red cape; she was certain that he wasn't human.

 

When the fighting had finally stopped, he had turned to face her. His chest was heaving not from battle exertion but blood lust, and she swore his eyes were glowing with a pure white light, ribbons of lightning rippling along his body. She was sure that he was going to kill her too. Then his expression softened and the color returned to his eyes when he looked upon her. He even lowered his axe.

 

She tried desperately again to change back so she could at least tell him with words that she meant no harm, but she couldn't. When he didn't react to her nonverbal display of submission, she decided not to take any chances. She scurried off to the nearby wooded area to hide when he was momentarily distracted. But not before helping him first, he did save her whether he meant to or not.

 

She was relieved when he didn't come after her. Hoping that she never runs into him again, she got up and wandered deeper into the woods to find shelter for the night.

* * *

 

"Are you sure it was here?" Steve asked as he surveyed the empty meadow.

 

Thor looked around in quiet disbelief. The fog had cleared and so had the corpses. There weren't even any signs of a melee. "Yes. I am certain." He answered resolutely.

 

"You don't think they got up and left, do you?" Clint immediately raised his bow in alarm scanning the area for zombie spiders.

 

"No, there would be tracks. They're too large to not leave a trace," said Natasha trying not to roll her eyes at her friend.

 

"Unless they had wings and we didn't know about it." Clint was half joking and half terrified at that possibility. Just then Clint felt something zip past his ear and he released his arrow. It hit its mark like it always did.

 

"What was that?" Natasha quickly drew her gun aiming at the direction where the arrow flew.

 

Laying on the ground impaled by Clint's arrow was the snitch. Clint knelt down to pick up the golden object to examine it. Removing the arrow revealed that the damage was minimal. It had pierced cleanly through the center of the ball, but it was still very much intact.

 

"I open at the close," he read out loud, "what does that mean?" Puzzled by the strange riddle, he held up the broken snitch in his gloved hand. It glinted in the fading sunlight.

 

"I don't know. But we should take it back to Banner for him to look at," Steve suggested looking over Clint's shoulder. "It was flying through the air. It has to be some sort of tech. Maybe it was spying on us."

 

"No, there's no camera, and I don't see a mic either." Clint frowned turning he snitch in his hand eyeing it critically. "Wait, there's something inside." He gave the tiny ball a shake and a black stone fell out of the small puncture into the palm of his hand. It was shaped like an eight sided dice and was roughly the same size as one. "It looks like a gem. Wonder if it's worth anything."

 

"May I take a look?" Thor asked.

 

Clint handed the stone to Thor.

 

Thor held the stone in his hand. It was tiny like a precious jewel. Etched in the center was a circle encased in a triangle bisected by a single line. He could feel it hum with a energy, not like an infinity stone of course. No, its source of power was much more latent. "This is no ordinary stone."

 

"Then what is it?" Natasha asked.

 

"I do not know, but I think it possesses magical properties." Thor studied the stone carefully. The engraved symbol was not something he had recognized.  _Loki would know._

"Cool. Magic rock. Glad to know that this trip was not a waste," Clint snarked.

 

"Were you actually hoping to hunt some giant spiders, Barton?" Steve raised his eyebrow at his friend.

 

"God no," Clint laughed, "but I'm glad I got to spend some quality time with you buddy." He clapped his hand on Thor's shoulder. It has been a long flight from New York to Norway.

 

"Are you coming back with us to New York, Thor?" Natasha asked casually. She glanced over at him already discerning his answer by his reluctant expression.

 

Arms crossed over his chest, Thor stared at the ground pensievely. He shook his head to decline."No, I shall stay here. We still do not know where those creatures came from. If there is a gateway to another realm, someone should remain here to guard it."

 

"I have another theory," Steve offered. "Hydra. They had bases and laboratories all over Europe. Two years ago, we found a bunch of dead super soldiers in an abandoned bunker in Siberia. The year before that we found Wanda and Pietro. And before that…" Steve paused reflectively, the name of his friend on the tip of his tongue. He had lost Bucky many times, but he always managed to surprise Steve by coming back from the dead somehow. But when he saw his best friend disintegrate into dust before his eyes, he knew Bucky wasn't coming back. The finality of his death was something Steve was still struggling to get over. "Who is to say that Hydra didn't expand their experimentation to non-humans."

 

"Steve's right. It's worth checking out given how sparsely populated the area is. Hydra could have easily set up a base around here without being discovered," Natasha pointed out.

 

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's break out the jeep," Clint said rubbing his hands together as he headed towards the plane. "And go spider hunting, yay…" He muttered halfheartedly under his breath.

* * *

 

Hermione stared at the rabbit sitting a few yards away. It was cheerfully chewing on grass oblivious to her. Its little nose wrinkling as it rooted around the ground for food. She hadn't eaten in nearly three days, and she was starving. But she could not bring herself to kill for food. It was hypocritical, she knew that. Hermione was no vegetarian. She'll happily tuck into her mum's shepherd pie any day of the week. A favorite of hers even when she was in utero her mum had claimed. Her mother ate so much of it during her pregnancy that when she prepared the dish; Hermione would kick excitedly as if she could smell the mince and mash cooking. She wondered if her mum still cooked shepherd's pie now that she no longer remembered her.

 

Even when her, Harry, and Ron were on the run, they mostly nicked food from the market in the nearby villages using Harry's invisibility cloak. They left money of course, the invisibility was a precaution because they couldn't risk being seen even in muggle villages. When they had to hunt, they used magic. It was much less visceral killing an animal with a spell. She was going to have to tear into this poor animal with her teeth while it struggled for its life.

 

She sneezed just then startling the rabbit. Its little head perked up before it sprinted away. Without even thinking, she pursued it across the clearing. She dove after it into some bushes and huffed in frustration when she came out with nothing.

 

Looking up she spotted an elk in the distance. It had noticed her too as it immediately stopped grazing and raised its head to look at her. She definitely couldn't kill an elk. It looked like it weighed half a ton. She would be gored to death by its magnificent antlers before she could even pierce its hide. This was probably why wolves hunted in packs. That amount of food would just be wasted on her no matter how hungry she was.

 

Clearly someone else didn't share that sentiment. In a blink of an eye, an axe sailed through the air decapitating the elk before severing the tree behind it before boomeranging back to its owner. The tree groaned and creaked before slamming into the ground with a loud, resounding thud that reverberated throughout the woods causing flocks of birds to vacate the treetops. When Thor goes hunting, he also goes lumbering. He planned of course to come back later to chop up the fallen tree for firewood. But right now, he had some hungry guests to feed.

 

Hermione watched stunned as this giant of a man from before hoisted the elk across his broad shoulders like a knapsack. Killing just came so naturally to him. When he spotted her, she froze. Thor grinned when he saw the wolf instantly recognizing her from before by her distinctive coloring.  _He has a nice smile for a bloodthirsty killer_ she thought nervously. It was also the first time she noticed how handsome he was. He had all the classical features: strong jawline, beautiful blue eyes, sculpted cheekbones, and perfectly shaped lips. His blonde hair cut short with a beard to match. Even though she preferred the clean-shaven look, she thought the beard complemented his face quite well.

 

"We meet again," he greeted her cordially with a nod as if he were speaking to a person. His voice had a deep, rich, masculine quality; it suited his persona perfectly. Hermione was taken aback by his friendliness. It was a complete one-eighty from what she had seen on the battlefield and even just seconds ago. Unable to say anything she tried to mimic his greeting by dipping her head and was rewarded with a hearty chuckle from the stranger, which only added to the strangeness of their already surreal interaction.

"You're a clever one, aren't you?" Clearly amused by her behavior, he cut off a hind quarter and laid it on the ground offering it to her. "I was worried that something had happened to you when you disappeared so suddenly after the battle. I am glad to see that you are not hurt." He smiled at her kindly. "I do not know why you came to my aid, but thank you." He gave her a wink and nod before turning to walk back from where he came taking the rest of the elk with him. Hermione watched as he departed confused as to what had just happened.

 

Turning her attention to the elk leg on the ground, something primal awoke in Hermione as she tore into the leg of the elk. Maybe she was just that hungry or maybe she was developing some lupine instincts. She had no problem killing Umbridge or that acromantula. Now she suddenly had no qualms eating the bloodied raw meat. This was a problem. She needed to find a way to change back and quick.

* * *

 

"Here we go my friends. We are going to eat well tonight!" Thor proclaimed proudly as he laid down his freshly killed elk. Thor had been in a cheerful mood. It had been such a long time since he last sat amongst friends and enjoyed a meal together.

 

"Thanks man!" Clint said clearly impressed by the size of the kill. " But uh... You really didn't have to go out of your way and kill an animal for us." He was thinking more along the lines of using the bifrost to pick up McDonald's or something when Thor suggested dinner, since the nearest town was 6 hours away. But then again this was Thor. It would be ungodly for him to beam himself to a drive-thru via the bifrost just to order quarter pounders and mcnuggets in full regalia and armor.

 

"Nonsense, you all are my guests. I am only sorry that my house was not big enough to accomodate all of us."

 

"Don't worry about it," Steve said. "It's not like we're staying much longer anyways." They had been camping out of their aircraft for the last few days while they conducted their search. So far nothing, no spidertracks, no secret Hydra bases, they were planning on leaving the next morning and returning to New York.

 

Thor cleaned and prepared the elk while Clint and Steve built the fire. Hours later they were full and chatting amicably around the campfire.

 

Hermione heard human voices. She quickly ran toward the source of the sound hoping to gather some clues as to where she was. She returned to the grassy field and was surprised by what she saw. The acromantulas were all gone. In its place was a large aircraft that looked like something straight out of those sci-fi movies her dad loved so much.

 

She silently crept closer so she could eavesdrop better. Peeking from behind a boulder, she saw that same man for the third time now, whom she still did not have a name for, conversing with two others, a man and a woman both dressed in black, sitting around a campfire. She was able to determine quite easily that they were Americans based on their accents.  _I wonder what they're doing all the way here in the wilds of Scotland._

* * *

 

"Are you sure you don't want to come back with us to New York, Thor?" Steve asked.

 

"No, my friends. I think I will stay here," Thor answered with finality.

 

A lull in the conversation soon followed.

 

"You know, it wasn't your fault, Thor," Steve said breaking the silence. Shaking his head, he leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees and looked right at Thor. "I know you blame yourself, but we're all equally responsible for letting Thanos win. We lost as a  _team_ ," Steve emphasized.

 

"I almost had him. If only I had aimed for the head instead of the heart," Thor recalled. He laughed mirthlessly. "But no, I wanted to see the life slowly leave his eyes because he did not deserve a painless death. I wanted him to suffer. Like how I suffered when he took everything I had left." Letting out a heavy sigh, "and now you all have to pay for my arrogance," Thor said regretfully.

 

"Thanos had already acquired the sixth infinity stone from Vision by the time you got to him," Steve reasoned. "He was unstoppable at that point."

 

"Yes, I know. I was too late to stop him," Thor growled. He rubbed his face tiredly as if he had gone through this conversation multiple times already. If only he had found Thanos quicker, he had gotten sidetracked in the chaos of battle.

 

"No one could have stopped him. That's the whole point. How do you stop someone who can with a snap of his fingers kill you and half the universe?" Natasha asserted calmly. Unlike Steve, she wasn't saying this for the sake of easing Thor's guilt. She was simply stating the facts. They were outmatched. Thanos had all but one of the stones by the time they faced him in Wakanada.

 

"Nat's right, Thor. We couldn't have won. Not when he had the power of the six stones giving him the authority to decide on life and death in this universe. He became god at that point." Steve hated admitting that as he was a God-fearing man with a capital G, but there wasn't really any other way to look at it. "You can't defeat god."

 

"Unless you're another god. That responsibility fell on me, and I failed." Thor replied heavily as if he were still carrying that burden.

 

Natasha crossed her arms over her chest realizing that the conversation was going nowhere. Thor was never going to forgive himself, but he needed to move on. "Come home with us." It was not in Natasha's nature to plead or beg, she only knew how to coerce and force, but she added, "please," anyways because she was feeling generous.

 

"Home?" Thor laughed bitterly. "My home was destroyed." While he loved Midgard and the friends he had made here, he never felt truly at home. That was just one of the many reasons why things didn't work out between him and Jane. He was always away in some other realm fighting to maintain peace and order because that was his duty as the future King of Asgard. His priority and allegiance had always been Asgard first. Long distance relationships were already difficult enough for couples that lived on the same planet never mind being separated by galaxies.

 

Had his people survived it may have been different. He could see himself making a home here with his people. Like his father had said, Asgard is not a place, but a people. But that was no longer possible, and it filled him with such guilt and remorse every time he thought about it. Maybe if he had not insisted on going to Earth, his people would still be alive. Loki would still be alive. If he had picked another place then maybe they would not have cross paths with Thanos' ship, which was on its way to Earth in search of the mind stone.

 

"I lost everything," he said as he met Natasha's gaze.

 

Natasha didn't react to Thor's implied slight. He was hurting, she understood that. But she wasn't going to apologize for her best friend still being alive, for Bruce coming back to her. She wasn't going to apologize for the small shred of happiness she managed to grasp from the awful aftermath of Thanos' snap. She may not have lost everything like Thor, but she didn't have a lot to begin with either.

 

"Hey guys, we've got a call from Bruce," Clint interrupted sticking his head out of the aircraft. He glanced at them wondering what he had missed. He could tell by the silence and tense look on their faces that it was probably an uncomfortable conversation.

* * *

 

Hermione watched as the three stood up and disappeared into the aircraft. Her heart was beating so fast. She tried to make sense of everything she had just heard. Things just kept getting more and more bizarre. Could this be the event that the centaurs spoke about? A calamity that was so unnatural, was that what this Thanos thing was? Was Thor really a god? As insane as that sounded, it also made the most sense. The man she saw on that field was the literal embodiment of the Norse God of Thunder. Before Thor, she had only seen that level of power from the likes of Dumbledore and Voldemort even though she came from the magical world.

 

Yes, witches and wizards had a litany of of spells at their disposal that could incapacitate, maim, torture, and kill so long as they had a wand. A wand that can be easily taken away or snapped in half. From what she had seen, Thor could kill with his bare hands using brute strength or by simply electrocuting his enemies. And now she just overheard that there was something even more powerful than him. What is this place that she had come to? It was as if she stumbled into an alternate universe where gods with strange names existed and can destroy a universe with a snap of their fingers. And she was stuck here in the middle of nowhere without her wand and trapped in her animagus form. She suddenly felt utterly alone and completely defenseless.

* * *

 

The four of them crowded around the screen like they were taking a group selfie.

 

"Hey guys, how's the clean up going?" Bruce asked tiredly. The scientist looked exhausted. Visible dark circles lined his eyes, his hair disheveled, and he desperately needed a shave. It would seem that without Natasha, Bruce forgot to do basic things like showering and sleeping.

 

Steve filled him in on the last few days, the disappearance of the dead spiders and their fruitless search for them.

 

"Sorry to hear that, well, I found some bits of plant matter on its legs. I ran the samples through a DNA database that contains every single sequence of plant genome found on earth. There were zero matches. Wherever these things came from, it's not from here."

 

Clint was relieved for a minute until he started thinking about giant alien spiders attacking from outer space.

 

"Well, at least that rules out Hydra," Steve said. He was more than happy to drop that lead having chased Hydra and vice versa for most of his adult life. The organization certainly lived up to its moniker in that it just won't die becoming a thorn in the side of the Avengers over the years.

 

"That was not all though," Bruce paused as he rubbed his neck. "I found human blood on its fangs and human remains in its stomach cavity."

 

"But this area is barely inhabited. The nearest town is at least 6 hours away," Thor said. He was surprised that there were civilian casualties.

 

"I know," Bruce conceded. "There haven't been any reports of giant spider attacks on the news or anything either."

 

"And we didn't find any trails. A herd of animals that size would definitely leave tracks." Natasha pointed out.

 

"Maybe I was wrong. I should not have dismissed the possibility of another convergence so quickly," Thor said seriously.

 

"You mean you seriously think that they crawled out of a portal from another dimension? Like they came from a world with human inhabitants or something?" Clint shuddered at the thought of a world similar to theirs with giant man eating spiders.

 

"It is possible," Bruce reluctantly admitted. He thought back to his encounter with Wong and Steven Strange and how they were able to open portals to different dimensions. "Or they landed here and ate some unlucky hikers that got lost in the fog," Bruce suggested sticking to the alien spider invasion idea. Somehow that idea seemed less daunting to the scientist. Was it not enough that the Avengers had to deal with threats not only on their planet, but the entire universe also? Now they have to worry about other dimensions too. There was only so much they could do now that there was only half as many of them."Did you guys find anything else?"

 

"Yes, this flying golden ball and a small black gemstone." Clint held up the objects to the camera for Bruce to see. "Thor seems to think that this is more than just a rock."

 

"I can feel it emit energy when I hold it in my hand," Thor elaborated.

 

"Huh, strange, maybe it's radioactive," Bruce squinted at the screen. They got a camera wide shot of his forehead as he leaned closer trying to get a better look at the tiny stone.

 

"Bring both of those back, and I'll scan them for any traces of radiation."

* * *

Thor had finished his swim late afternoon. His muscles ache a bit having swam further and longer than he normally did. He welcomed the fatigue. There was nothing he loved more than the tired feeling after a hard day's worth of training. And without Sif and the Warriors Three to spar with, he had to work harder to achieve that desired feeling.

 

He had caught a few fishes for an early dinner and was now busy building a fire to cook his food on. It was November, but being a quarter Jotunn thanks to his grandmother Bestla on his father's side meant that he had a higher tolerance for colder temperatures than most Asgardians excluding Odin and Loki of course. He looked up as he was tending the fire and spotted a familiar brown, bushy tail disappear down the path leading to the beach. Thor smiled to himself. She had been watching him all week. He was reasonably confident that she wasn't going to try to eat him. He had been curious about his new neighbor and based on her furtive glances when she thought she was hidden from his sight, the feeling was mutual.

 

Hermione had smelled something delicious in the air. Curious and hungry she followed the scent meandering down to the rocky beach just beneath the cliffs. She was beginning to think that Thor was the only person that lived within this 25 mile radius. So far aside from the three Americans, she had seen no one else besides him. Apparently they were just visiting. She had watched the airship depart taking his friends away a week ago.

 

Hermione wasn't so afraid of him anymore not after his peace offering in the forest and witnessing his surprisingly vulnerable display in front of his friends; it made him seem a bit more human. However, she was still a bit shy around him though. Probably because she had accidentally spied on him while he was swimming. Naked. An activity he engaged in almost every single day with rigorous discipline despite the cold weather. She of course immediately looked away but not before getting an eyeful of his tall muscular body. She had never seen a more perfect male.

 

She could only compare him to the greco-roman statues she had seen at the Louvre or the Vatican museums. His body looked like it was lovingly carved out of stone by the most talented of sculptors. But even those perfect marble statues paled in comparison to him. There was both beauty and utility in his form. Every lined muscle on his body was shaped by the battles he had fought. His skin had that healthy golden hue probably from training under the heat of the sun.  _A warrior god_. He was truly beautiful to look at.

 

"I know you're out there." Hermione froze knowing that she had been discovered.

 

"Come out." There was a teasing lilt in his command. "I know you're hungry."

 

Hermione reluctantly came out of her hiding place amongst the piles of driftwood.

 

He was grilling fish over an open fire and it smelled heavenly. Hermione was becoming a more proficient hunter everyday catching small game here and there. While her wolf animagus was more than happy to eat her prey whole, alive, and screaming, she sorely missed cooked food. As if he read her mind, he set aside a plate for her on the ground. She was rather touched by that gesture. Instead of simply throwing food at her as if she were a common dog, he placed it on a plate so the gravel wouldn't ruin it.

 

Hermione gratefully accepted the food. They ate side by side around the warm fire listening to the waves crashing against the rocks. The sun was low on the horizon as it was winter and the days were shorter.

 

Thor watched the wolf as he ate. She was an odd creature. He had never encountered such a well-mannered wolf. Wolves were wild, savage creatures, and she seemed rather tame. Perhaps she was reared by humans, though he wasn't sure how common that practice was amongst Midgardians seeing how they had already domesticated dogs.

 

Watching her eat, he thought it was quite funny that she had better manners than most of his friends. An image of Volstagg single-handedly eating an entire boar with grease dripping down his face and beard came to mind. She took small dainty bites of her fish chewing it thoroughly instead of eating it in one or two bites like Thor was doing.

 

Not wanting to scare the wolf, Thor had refrained from approaching her since she came out of the fog. Scared animals tended to attack and while Thor could easily defend himself against a Midgardian wolf, he didn't want to accidentally hurt her. Instead he waited for her to come to him by bribing her with food of course.

 

In a way she reminded him of his father's two wolves, Geri and Freki. Despite their names, they were generally good natured creatures that watched over Loki and Thor when they were children. Often coming to their rescue when they were in trouble or tracking them down when they wandered off too far and bringing them home. He couldn't help but smile when he thought of them.

 

Hermione stopped eating. She could feel his eyes on her. He was studying her like a book again. She was not expecting him to touch her, so she flinched when she felt his hand gently curl behind her head stroking her behind her ear. "I won't hurt you," he whispered smiling at her warmly. Her fur was thick and soft beneath his fingers. Hermione relaxed into his touch. It had been a long time since she had received any kind of affection, and she gladly accepted it from him.

 

"Where's your pack little one? Are you lost?" Hermione looked at Thor, his blue eyes sad and full of concern. "Every wolf needs a pack." Geri and Freki were rarely seen without the other, where one went the other followed. They were inseparable since birth having come from the same litter. He had only seen her wandering alone.

 

If she could talk, she supposed she would say that they were dead. That she was unable to save them from the evil paranoid megalomaniacal wizard terrorist leader that had killed them all in a pointless war no one had asked for. That she felt guilty being the only one to survive the conflict on her side, but she couldn't say a damn thing trapped in this form.

 

So he spoke for both of them instead, "it seems that we share this in common. We both lost our pack, our family," he sighed. He continued stroking her back. His fingers burrowed beneath her fur; the feeling of her warm skin comforted him.

 

Any remaining fear she had left of him faded as she listened to him speak about his family and the people he had lost. He spoke about the place he was from, Asgard, which had been destroyed. From what she had gathered, he may be the only surviving member of his species, and she felt incredibly sad for him.  _A god without his people_.  _It was tragic._ He was utterly alone, but what she hadn't yet fully realized was that she was also one of a kind in this universe just like him.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: *Geri and Freki are Odin's wolves from Prose Edda. Both mean "the greedy one" or "the ravenous ." I had considered using a raven as Hermione's animagus, since that's another animal associated with Odin, but that would have made her escape too easy.
> 
> So we know from Avengers 3 that Thanos only killed half of the Asgardians according to Thor, but I'm going to also assume that Thor doesn't know where they are or if they even made it to safety. So as far as he knows, they are dead for the time being. I like to believe that the Valkyrie is currently leading them, hopefully she's not piloting the ship while she's drinking of course. I was so disappointed when Tessa Thompson didn't show up in the movie! I kept waiting for her to come out and kick some ass. It would have been awesome if they had joined the Wakadans for the fight.
> 
> I have a couple of scenarios that I am working on. So we may or may not see Valkyrie and the other Asgardians later in the story;)


	4. Chapter 4

Weeks passed by and Hermione was adapting to her animagus form rather well. Initially, she had a very steep learning curve to navigate, but overall life as a wolf was not terrible; her life now was infinitely preferable to being a war criminal on death row. She went hungry for the first few days, when she foraged for edible mushrooms and plants with very little success.

 

Sometimes she scavenged the woods for scraps, which were conveniently left by Thor. She figured that out pretty quickly when she spied him cleaning his kills in the woods after his hunt, purposely leaving his leftovers in places he had seen her. She often found discarded bones with generous amounts of flesh still attached. She questioned his motives for helping her, but was not in any position to refuse his help. Realistically, she probably would have starved to death those first few weeks without him, a sobering and humbling realization for Hermione.

 

She relied less and less on Thor's scraps everyday. The longer she stayed in her wolf form the more her animal instincts developed. Her reflexes improved considerably making her quicker and more agile. Along with augmented hearing and a heightened sense of smell, she became a formidable hunter in her own right. While she found the experience jarring at first being assaulted by unfamiliar smells and sounds like she was waking up for the first time, she gradually acclimated and used her newfound gifts to survive in the wilderness.

 

Hermione's ears twitched picking up the faint sounds of grass rustling nearby among a chorus of noise from the chirping insects and birds. Standing alert she sniffed the air.  _Hare, perfect_. It was her favorite. She followed the scent padding quickly and softly through the woods.

 

She halted when she spotted her prey, a pair of spotted brown hares grooming each other and munching on grass. They were so cute.  _Get a grip Granger!_  Any hesitation on her part could easily botch the hunt; the prey could escape or suffer more than necessary.

 

Tamping down her reservations, she crept a little closer before she pounced. The two hares darted out her grasp scattering in opposite directions. She pursued the fatter, slower one. In less than three seconds she leaped in front of the hare blocking its escape. It tried to evade her by running back in the opposite direction. Adrenaline pumping, she cornered it before capturing the hare in her mouth.

 

The hare fought, and it fought hard; its small body thrashed as it struggled to free itself from Hermione's jaw. She immediately snapped its neck with a loud crunch. She felt the squirming hare go limp in her mouth. Placing the hare gently on the ground, her heartbeat and breathing started to slow. Killing was difficult for her even with a hungry stomach and adrenaline pumping through her veins. Looking down at the dead hare, Hermione never took food for granted ever again.

* * *

 

Hermione was on a mission to find Thor. She had a rough idea of where he lived based on where she had seen him. She caught the familiar masculine scent of sea and leather near the edge of the forest. High quality, old leather with that sultry, rich, buttery smell reminiscent of the old books at the Hogwarts' library. It was a comforting smell that invoked many happy memories of her studying in the quiet library. She missed the days where her biggest source of stress was worrying about what was on the next Transfiguration exam or if her Charms essay was too long. Not saving the bloody Wizarding World from a genocidal dark lord while she and her friends were still going through puberty.

 

Following his scent, she trotted up the path to his small stone cottage at the edge of the woods. In her mouth she carried a pair of freshly killed hares. Even as a wolf, Hermione minded her manners. After all her parents did not raise an animal.  _Never show up as a guest empty handed, bring a homemade pudding, or at least a nice bottle of wine_  her mother would say. Setting her prized kills down gently on his doorstep she barked loudly to make her presence known. The light was on inside the house, so she knew he was home.

 

Thor opened the door. His massive body seemed to take up the entire span of the door frame. He was pleasantly surprised when he looked down. Smiling,"what do we have here?" His deep baritone voice held a note of playfulness.

 

Hermione wagged her tail and nudged her offering with her snout. It was only right she had thought. Thor was so generous with his food. Also she wanted him to know she was a competent hunter now.

 

Thor chuckled, "how generous of you. You caught these yourself?" He knelt down so that he was eye level with her. "Thank you my friend, this is quite a bounty you have brought," he said sincerely. He reached out his hand to pet her. Gently kneading his fingers into the back of her neck, he rubbed that tender spot at the base eliciting a pleasing hum from Hermione.

 

"I take it you are staying for dinner?"

 

She dipped her head as if to nod yes.

 

"Good," he grinned his large hand ruffling her furry head.

 

Thor skinned the rabbits quickly and skewered them whole on a spit. He rarely used the kitchen inside the cottage preferring to cook everything on an open fire. He built a stone fire pit outside of his cottage for this reason, and it was large enough to roast an entire elk. Hermione sat near the fire warming herself while watching Thor cook the food. Hermione's mouth watered at the smell of roasting meat.

 

"You know, if we are going to keep meeting like this then I should give you a name," Thor said casually as he turned the spit.

 

Hermione lifted her head and looked at him her brows furrowing.  _But I already have a name. It's Hermione. Hermione Jean Granger._  Her heart broke a little because she felt like she was losing herself little by little everyday. Was she even a Granger anymore? Her mother's name was Jean Granger, but she no longer existed. She was Monica Wilkins now. Monica and Wendell Wilkins did not have a daughter. Since her imprisonment, her captors have made every effort to denigrate her, calling her mudblood.  _Potter's mudblood. Filthy mudblood. Potter's filthy, disgusting mudblood._  Now that most of her friends were dead, no one seemed to remember Hermione Granger.

 

Thor pondered what name he wanted to give her for a moment. Names were important to an individual's psyche, and he wanted to give her one that suited her. That she would be proud to answer to.

 

"I shall call you Ylva," Thor declared thoughtfully after the prolonged silence.

 

Her interest piqued. Hermione tilted her head at Thor giving him a questioning look.

 

"Ylva means female wolf," Thor explained. Loki would probably roll his eyes at his lack of subtlety and imagination, but wolves were revered creatures on Asgard. Plenty of daughters of Asgard were given that name.

 

Hermione blinked.  _Ylva, female wolf._  It was an apt name especially coming from him. He barely knew her after all. He thought she really was a wolf. Thor giving her a name was kind of sweet. That meant that he wanted her to stay. She found herself wanting to do the same for now at least.

 

"Although, I must say, I have always been partial to the name Noma. It means 'fate'" Thor mused. He felt the name was fitting. It was pretty just like her. "I do not think our meeting was a coincidence," Thor reflected seriously. A lone wolf had emerged out of a mysterious fog in the same place where his father had died on Samhain. It was kismet. Perhaps Odin knew he had lost his way and had sent someone to show him the way home.

 

Hermione unlike Thor did not believe in fate, prophecies, or divination and for good reason. Harry's life and subsequently her life and the Order's were destroyed all because their death eater, ex-potions professor overheard a few words uttered by a quack in what was probably an inebriated exchange with Dumbledore at The Hogs Head Inn. Voldemort, despite being lauded as one of Hogwarts' most brilliant student since Dumbledore, fell for the prophecy and decided to go to war over a vague conjecture.

 

"So, what will it be? Noma?" Thor was letting her choose, "or Ylva?"

 

She accepted the latter name by letting out a sharp bark and nuzzling Thor's hands with her snout.

 

Thor smiled as he petted her affectionately, "Ylva, it is then."

* * *

 

At night when their stomachs were full, they looked up at the stars together lying side by side. Thor spoke of his home, of happier times. His Midgardian friends would think him to be mad probably conversing with a wolf, but he could tell that this creature understood far more than most would assume.

 

Hermione listened fascinated by his stories. She was learning a lot about Thor. Some parts of his life held true to the myths and some did not. He really did have a magic hammer called Mjolnir, but it had been destroyed. He really was the son of Odin, the Allfather and ruler of the Nine Realms. Asgard had been a real place, before Ragnarok. She had no idea what a bilgesnipe was, but they sounded dangerous enough for Hagrid to want as a pet.

 

He spoke with such love and reverence about his family even about his brother Loki, who had tried to kill him multiple times. Thor just brushed those murder attempts off like it was some sort of game between him and his brother to see how many times Loki can stab him. Loki, the God of Mischief, had been a Seidr, a practitioner of magic, and so had his mother Frigga.  _Like me_  she thought.

 

Hermione wished desperately that she could tell him who she was. That she was trapped in this wolf's body by magic. Thor may not practice magic like Loki, but that didn't mean he couldn't help her. He seemed like a kind person, gallant even. At this point he may be her only hope.

 

Hermione had considered her options several times. The spell had not worn off after all this time. She needed magic to break it, that she knew was certain. Her first thought was to go back through the forbidden forest and sneak into Hogsmeade to find someone to reverse the spell, but not only was that dangerous and unwise as she was probably Undesirable Number One now, but she had no more allies in the Wizarding World. Not to mention she was unapproachable in her current form. She would be hexed or shot on sight if she went anywhere near a human settlement. Why couldn't her animagus have been an adorable tabby cat like Professor McGonagall's? The only people that would recognize her animagus form were her enemies, and she could not count on Draco and Narcissa to help her again.

 

Hermione gazed intensely at Thor trying to telepathically communicate her thoughts. Her eyes narrowed in concentration.  _My name is actually Hermione Granger, I'm not really a wolf. I'm a witch. I've been cursed and can't change back._ Only the most accomplished Legilimens could transmit thoughts in addition to reading minds. Unfortunately, legilimency was not a skill she had practiced. Hermione had always thought mind reading was invasive, creepy, and unethical. Plus, based on her normal everyday interactions with her peers, she would rather not know what most people were thinking all the time anyways.

 

Thor finished his story of Sleipnir's conception. Loki had turned himself into a mare to distract a giant's horse, so they could win a bet with said giant and score Asgard a free wall, and as an unexpected bonus for Odin, a grandson and a steed.

 

"And we did not see Loki for an entire year. He came back with Sleipnir, a horse born with eight legs! Our father used to ride into battle with him. A fine horse - my nephew!" Thor laughed shaking his head, "my brother was such a trickster. He found himself in as much trouble as he caused for others. Made quite a few powerful enemies too," Thor rambled. "Too clever for his own good much like you. Although I am not sure if you would have liked him. Per-" He turned to look at Ylva, her eyes were fixed intently upon him. Her eyes had such depth and intensity.  _She really was a rather curious creature_ , Thor thought.

 

"What are you?"

 

Thor's question caught her off guard.  _I'm Hermione Granger, daughter of Jean and Jonathan Granger. I'm not really a wolf! I'm a muggle born witch! I've been cursed and have no idea how to break the spell!_ She practically screamed in her head. For a brief moment, she thought she saw a flash of recognition in his eyes, but alas she must have imagined it.

* * *

 

Thor and Hermione did not see each other for nearly a week after their impromptu dinner. Hermione had retreated back into the woods. She had created a makeshift shelter on the side of a hill by digging a hole into the slope. Her little wolf's den was not the most structurally sound habitat, but it kept her sufficiently warm and dry from the rain that had rolled in. She worried about the unrelenting rain and her small cave flooding and collapsing trapping her. The temperature dropped every day, and she needed to find a better and more reliable shelter and fast.

 

She missed her magic. Camping was much more bearable living in a magically expanded tent, with scourgify charms, and magical wards protecting her from the harsh elements. Hell, camping was much easier the muggle way too. She had many fond memories camping with her parents in the Forest of Dean when she was younger.

 

When the rain finally stopped, Thor stepped out of his cottage preparing for a hunt in the woods. At the same time, Hermione emerged from her den hungry and restless from being cooped up in her hole for the past few days. Stretching all four of her limbs she caught the scent of prey nearby and followed it.

 

Neither were surprised to see each other again in the woods. Both simultaneously spotted their prey, a brown hare, and each other across the clearing. Their eyes met briefly, Thor's blue eyes gleaming playfully and Hermione's fiery and determined. Suddenly, as if the hare could feel the tension behind their stares, it hauled its ass out of there. Challenging looks were exchanged before they sprinted after the hare.

 

And then the race was on, god versus magical beast (technically, because Hermione is a witch). Hermione had a slight advantage with her narrower body easily weaving through the trees. She was also lighter and quicker on her feet than Thor, so naturally she headed the race.

 

Hermione enthusiastically chased after the hare feeling lighter and more carefree than she had in a long time. She stole a glance from the corner of her eye. On the other side, Thor's lagged just a fraction of a second behind her. He seemed to have a greater difficulty maneuvering through the trees, so he just  _gently_  shoved them out of the way, his bulky frame forcing the trees to part. At one point Thor must have knocked over yet another tree because she heard a loud crash followed by a string or curse words and a frustrated grunt. Not that something as inconsequential as a tree could slow Thor down.

 

Thor crashed through another tree muttering incoherently, something about more fire wood. He normally did not pursue small game preferring to hunt elk or reindeer. Thor was a large man with a large appetite to match, but when he saw Ylva, he couldn't pass up the chance to play with her. He was happy to see her and pleased that she had grown more relaxed in his presence. Thor shoved another small tree out of his way as he quickened his pace. He did not like losing. He will bring down this entire small forest if he has to in order to win.

 

Hermione was determined to win. Admittedly it was not one of her most attractive qualities, but she could tell that Thor was equally if not more so as competitive. Somehow that quality was perceived as more attractive in males for some reason.  _Double standards_ she thought rolling her eyes. God or not, she was not letting Thor beat her.

 

Target in sight, she closed the distance between her and the hare. Hermione opened her mouth to snap up the prey, but missed its hind legs by barely an inch as she slipped into a thick pool of mud still wet from the rain. Falling face first and eating a mouthful of mud, she yelped as she somersaulted a few times before rolling to a stop sinking into the wet ground while her prey light as a feather hopped away to safety. Its tiny paws traversing the soft mud much like how Jesus had walked on water, without sinking. Hermione spat out the mud and tried to wipe the taste off her tongue. She watched forlornly as her dinner disappeared into the thicket.

 

Thor's laughter ranged through the silent woods. Tears leaking out of his eyes, he gripped his side struggling to breathe through his laughing fit. Wolves were such majestic creatures, ferocious apex predators. But watching her sit there coated in mud and huffing petulantly, she just looked so….cute.

 

Hermione was not amused. She scowled at Thor as she clumsily stood up, but not able to navigate out of the mud pit without slipping and falling since her paws couldn't find any traction on the slippery, soft ground.

 

Thor easily fished her out of the mud pit. Gathering her in his arms, he carried her belly up and ruined his shirt in the process. Hermione whined in protest at being carried.  _I can walk you neanderthal! Put me down! NOW!_

 

"Shhh..Do not fret. I've got you now," Thor hushed his hands gripping her securely as he cradled her. They made quite a sight, a burly blonde man carrying a wolf like he would carry a child. Hermione voiced her displeasure at being handled in a such a way by pressing her dirty paw into the side of his face leaving a muddy paw print on his left cheek.

 

"Aaarrgggghhh…." he groaned, "stop! You need a bath! Stop squirming or I will drop you right here in the creek and you can clean yourself off that way." He playfully nipped her ear since his hands were full. He had seen Freki do this to Geri when the smaller wolf got out of line. Hermione glared at him but ceased her wriggling at the mention of a bath.  _A hot bath sounded nice actually._ Baths were a luxury for her now that she was basically homeless.

 

Winter had finally arrived in Norway during the final days of November. The air cold and the trees barren, its inhabitants abandoned them for warmer climates. The water in the creek had not yet frozen over, but it was much too cold to bathe or swim in. He could already feel her shivering against his body; she was very wet from the cold mud, so he decided to clean her in his bathtub back at the cottage instead.

 

They made it back to Thor's cottage mid afternoon with plenty of daylight to spare. He kicked open the front door and carried her directly to the small bathroom not wanting to let a muddy wolf run loose in his house. Hermione looked around curiously as Thor carried her having never been inside of his home. It felt oddly intrusive like she had barged into his private space even though he literally carried her inside. The cottage was modest and sparsely furnished. Definitely not how she imagined a god would live. A single room encapsulated both the living and dining area. The focal point of the space was the stone fireplace which held the dying embers of the morning fire.

 

Thor nudged open the bathroom door and flipped on the light switch. The bathroom like what she had seen so far was also small and basic. Beneath the window near the back wall stood an old fashioned claw foot bathtub. Shifting her in his arms to free his hand, he turned on the tap testing the temperature of the water before placing her gently into the tub. He scooped up a handful of water and rinsed the dried mud off his face. While the tub filled up with water, Thor stepped out of the bathroom to feed a few logs to the fire in the living room. He shot a small spark out of the tips of his fingers to rekindle the fire. There was a slight chill in the house, and he wanted it gone before she finished her bath.

 

Thor came back just in time to turn off the faucet before the tub overfilled. "Enjoying yourself there?" He grinned looking at Hermione, who was sprawled out in the tub her head resting on the wide rim. Her eyes closed as she enjoyed the warm water. Sighing, Thor stripped off his dirty shirt knowing that it was going to get wet anyways while he bathed her. Hermione gulped and looked away bashfully ducking her head underwater.

 

Thor laughed amused by her strange reaction as he reached down to unplugged the tub. The water had turned grey from the dirt and mud. "I must apologize for offending your delicate sensibilities. You are a lady after all, but in all fairness you did ruin my shirt," Thor teased. Once the dirty water disappeared down the drain, Hermione had nowhere to hide from the half naked Thor. Hermione snorted indignantly. That was all his doing, she didn't ask to be carried like some damsel in distress.

 

Thor had to drain and fill the tub twice before he could properly wash her in clean water. Thor settled on his knees by the tub. Grabbing a bar of soap, he lathered it between his hands before massaging it into her fur. Hermione stiffened at his touch. Suddenly a rather naughty thought of him bathing her in her human form crossed her mind. She imagined him tenderly washing her body. His hands large and callous slick from the soap and water rubbing up and down every inch of her flushed skin. All of the sudden the water in the bath felt too hot, so she tried to jump out.

 

"Ylva, no," he warned. "Hey!" Thor grabbed her before she could escape and pulled her back into the tub, water splashing everywhere. "No," he said sternly. With one hand he easily pressed her into the tub until she was lying on her stomach again. Hermione could not budge under the weight of his hand. While he wasn't hurting her, it only reminded her how easily he could if he wanted to.

 

"Oh no, you are not getting out of taking a bath that easily. We are not finished yet," he smiled mistaking her discomfort at being touched by him as impatience or a general dislike of baths. When Thor was younger, Odin used to punish him and Loki for misbehaving by having them bathe Geri and Freki, which ended up being a punishment for all four of them. Thor nearly had his hand ripped off one time by a wet, disgruntled Freki.

 

When Thor lifted his hand to retrieve the soap, Hermione reoriented herself inside the tub until she was face to face with him. Not breaking eye contact she deliberately flicked her paw splashing him with water. It was a petty move; she knew that.

 

"Yvla!" Thor griped wiping his face with his arm. "You did that on purpose!" Hermione of course said nothing and just stared at him unapologetically. She wanted to get him back for biting her ear earlier and manhandling her. He held up his hands in a placating gesture. "If you behave, I will cook you a nice rabbit for dinner." Hermione narrowed her eyes at him considering his offer. She was hungry and her dinner had hopped away earlier.

 

After a moment, she sank back down into the tub and let Thor wash her. "Good girl," Thor praised. He was glad that she took the bait, but frowned when he realized that he now had a rabbit to catch. After a while she relaxed, her eyes drooping sleepily. "See, this is not so bad," Thor said.

 

And it really wasn't she had to admit. It was definitely better than that awkward bath Narcissa had given her, of course they were both under considerable duress at the time. Baths were much more relaxing without the looming threat of execution. Thor's touch was nice too. His strong hands were firm but gentle, which surprised her after seeing him rip his enemies apart so mercilessly on the battlefield. She wondered if he had to actively restrain himself as he touched her. Even so, she could not bring herself to fear him anymore.

 

After he finished cleaning her, he unstopped the tub and stepped out to grab a clean shirt. He came back dressed much to Hermione's relief and dried her off the best he could with a towel. Damp fur sticking up in every direction, Hermione shook herself off causing her to puff up and double in volume. Her fur seemed just as unruly wet as her natural hair.

 

"Hey!" Thor grunted. He shielded himself with his arms as he was pelted with water droplets. "I just put on a clean shirt!"

 

Feeling playful and still a little vengeful from earlier, Hermione hopped out of the tub and pounced on him leaving a large, wet imprint on the front of his shirt. She immediately darted out of the bathroom wanting to be as far away as possible before Thor started taking his clothes off again. Thor managed to give her a firm slap on her backside and a sharp scolding before she escaped. She didn't need to look behind her to know he was grinning from ear to ear.

 

She trotted unrepentantly over to the fireplace. Then without warning Thor tackled her to the ground. Thor rolled so that she was on top not wanting to crush her with his inhuman weight. Hermione yelped and bit Thor in the ear. He cursed not in pain, but in surprise. "Oh," he gripped the sides of her neck holding her still as he looked up at her. "Oh, that was clever," his expression darkened for a brief moment as he warned ominously, "but you are going to pay for that."

 

Thor released her face to tightened his arms around her body trapping her against his chest. Hermione struggled, but could not escape his hold. His arms wrapped around her like a reinforced steel cage that was impossible to break, so she changed tactics and starting licking Thor's face with the ferocity of a woman scorned. His itchy beard scratched her tongue in a way that tickled.

 

"Nooooo….STOP!" Thor laughed, his face sticky with Hermione's spit. "You beast! You are not fighting fair!" Thor accused, his head tossing side to side trying avoid her tongue. Hermione continued her unrelenting assault, until she felt his arms loosen around her. "Alright, alright, ALRIGHT…. I yield!" Thor released her. He laid on the ground laughing and panting. He wiped his face with his hand, "ugh...That was disgusting."

 

Satisfied and victorious, Hermione rolled off of him to lie by his side on the thick woven rug. Closing her eyes, she suddenly felt exhausted probably from the race in the woods and their sudden wrestling match.

 

"Alright," he said after he composed himself. "Dinner is on me," he patted her on the back before standing up.

 

Hermione cracked open an eye to watch him retrieve his axe before leaving out the front door. She rolled over to claim his spot in front of the fireplace. Drowsy from the warm fire and tired from their scuffle, she fell asleep forgetting all about the rabbit.

 

Eyes closed, legs curled, lying on her back was how Thor found her when he returned from his hunt that evening, rabbits in hand. Smiling to himself he lied down next to her in front of the fire. Hermione unconsciously rolled over onto her side and snuggled closer to Thor.

 

Thor chuckled quietly. Eyes closed, he pressed his face into her fur like she was a pillow. She smelled nice, which he did not expect. Strangely enough, she didn't have that musky, wolfish scent that lingered even after a bath. That unpleasant wet dog smell that was characteristic of the canine family. She smelled sweet, almost floral underneath the scent of his soap. This must be her natural scent. He liked it.

 

"Goodnight Ylva," Thor whispered stroking her fur until he fell asleep moments later.

 

Then she never left, and Thor didn't mind one bit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note: I based Thor's story about the wall and Sleipnir from Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman. It's his take on the stories from Prose Edda and Poetic Edda. I highly recommend it. It's a good read if you enjoy mythology.
> 
> In case you guys haven't read it or heard of the story, the gist of it is that Odin pressured by Loki makes a deal with a giant (in disguise) to build a wall around a defenseless Asgard. He only had one season to complete it. The giant relied on his horse to pull the heavy stones for the wall, and when it looked like the giant was about to complete the wall on time, Loki transform himself into a mare and leads the horse away delaying the completion of the wall. Then Loki gives birth to Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse Odin rides.


	5. Chapter 5

Thor grunted as Ylva nosed his ear impatiently. She rested her head next to Thor's on the arm of the couch that Thor stretched himself out on. Sitting on the floor, she had positioned herself to read over Thor's shoulder.

 

"Hmm...Fine," he sighed when she licked his cheek and turned the page even though he had not finished reading. This was how the two passed the time on the many quiet nights they shared. Thor borrowed some books from Bruce the last time he visited New York.

 

Thor enjoyed reading just not as much as training, fishing, hunting, winning battles, slaying beasts, feasting, drinking himself into oblivion with his friends, and fucking. Plus, he rarely had the time to read between his adventures and saving the universe. Why read about an adventure when he was already out living one? But Ylva enjoyed it, she always appeared by his side, tail wagging excitedly as soon as he reached for a book on the shelf.

 

Thor led a very different life now. He lived in an isolated area on Earth that lacked dangerous beasts (for the most part) and women. Also, no amount of Midgardian alcohol could get him drunk, which was probably a blessing. He thought about Valkyrie. She would hate living here. Like him she had lost everything dear to her, and she dealt with the guilt and unpleasant memories by drowning them with unhealthy amounts of alcohol. He did not want to succumb to such self destructive behaviors.

 

Not exactly easy to avoid now that he found himself with too much downtime, which invited the dark thoughts, so he picked up some books to read instead as a much needed distraction. He particularly enjoyed the epic and fantasy genres, and Bruce had selected a few Midgardian classics for him to read. Just for giggles, he also threw in copies of Prose Edda and Poetic Edda. Currently, he and Ylva were reading the second book of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

 

He turned his head and watched as Ylva's eyes moved back and forth tracing the words on the pages. He already knew she was intelligent. Thor was 1500 years old and well traveled. He had explored much of the universe and encountered many different species of intelligent life. Most recently a talking rabbit had rescued him from his burning spaceship. The rabbit even knew how to pilot and captain his own spacecraft. There were even creatures on Asgard that had near human intelligence. His nephew Sleipnir had been one, but he had not heard of such creatures dwelling on Earth.

 

She nudged him again, and he turned the page not caring about the story anymore too preoccupied with studying her. He could tell she understood him. She always listened to him attentively communicating with nods and shakes of her head when he spoke to her.

 

"Alright, time to go to bed," Thor said snapping the book shut. Hermione whined in protest. She had already read The Two Towers before, but life as a wolf was not exactly stimulating intellectually, and she missed books damn it!

 

Thor got up and replaced the book on the shelf. "Don't give me that look," Thor said when he saw her pout,"there will be plenty of time tomorrow to read especially if we go hunting early enough." He flashed her a smile.

 

She stayed rooted to her spot next to the couch and narrowed her eyes at him still salty about being sent to bed so early.

 

"Which means we go to bed early," he nodded towards the small bed in the corner he had built for her. It was a simple wooden box lined with a feather filled padded mattress that Thor personally stuffed with the feathers of the geese he had caught. On top of it rested a nest of blankets. Thor spoiled her whenever he could.

 

Deciding not to test Thor today, she trudged over to her bed tail brushing the floor behind her. Hopping onto the bed, she burrowed herself into the blankets until all he saw poking out was her snout.

 

He followed her and bent down to give a gentle boop on her nose before planting a goodnight kiss, "good girl."

 

He laughed when the bundle of blankets twitched and squirmed. Thor was very free and generous with his affections. Something Hermione was still not used to.

 

"Goodnight Ylva."

* * *

Over the following weeks, Hermione settled into Thor's life quite nicely. They coexisted together surprisingly well. For the most part she was mindful that she was a guest in his home. She contributed to their meals frequently by either bring home her slaughtered prey or accompanying Thor on hunts. She kept herself as clean as possible, wiping her muddy paws on the welcome mat before entering the house, routinely bathing but that was more for her own enjoyment.

 

But being a wolf, she shed her fur everywhere, the rug, the couch, towels, anything she slept on. Thor seemed not to mind, not exactly a stickler for tidiness as he often left his clothes and weapons everywhere also. Their home remained clean however, the messiness just added a lived in quality to their home.

 

Hermione had grown accustomed to a certain level of disorder after living with Harry and Ron in a tent for nearly a year and spending every summer at the Burrow since the age of twelve. Not to mention sharing a room with a bunch of teenage girls during her six years at Hogwarts. Girls can be just as messy as boys. She learned to let it go and resisted the urge to pick up Thor's things. No one liked a passive aggressive roommate, and she was no one's maid.

 

She also learned to stay away from his bedroom not because he explicitly ordered her to, but because Thor had a habit of sleeping naked and occasionally walking around unclothed. Apparently shame or body consciousness did not register in the minds of the Aesir. Perhaps they were all perfectly formed beings like Thor. Though, Thor did not strut around boastfully, but rather carried himself with an ease that conveyed a sense of comfort and acceptance in his own body.

 

Conversely, Thor learned to sleep with the door closed now and donning his trousers before leaving his bedroom something he was unaccustomed to. He found her behavior strange, a wolf that exhibited such human characteristics such as modesty and bashfulness, but he had long realized that she was no ordinary wolf.

 

Thor found her quirks adorable and willingly sacrificed some of his freedom he enjoyed from his bachelor lifestyle (as Clint had called it when Thor showed him his home) in exchange for her company. They shared a very easy relationship. She did not demand anything from him nor did she try to ingratiate herself with him.

 

Growing up as a prince of Asgard meant that he was never starved for company. Servants waited on him and obeyed his every whim. He also had Loki; they were as close as two brothers could be until they grew apart in adulthood when certain revelations made their relationship increasingly complicated.

 

Thor possessed a natural charisma that attracted no shortage of followers and admirers. When he came to Earth, the Avengers welcomed him with open arms into their team. Brave, heroic, and handsome, Thor never failed to win the hearts of everyone he had ever met. A trait Loki had coveted. Yet unlike his brother, Thor did not crave the adoration of everyone. He had a few relationships that he cherished and protected with his life. That included his family and a cluster of loyal, dependable friends that followed him into every insane adventure, quest, battle, without question.

 

Only, he failed to keep them safe. He felt almost like the protagonist of one of those dramatic epic stories he read about. An arrogant hero punished for his hubris, surviving while those he loved perished, unable to save them. Feeling unworthy, he withdrew from the remaining friends he had left. But he felt lonely in his self-imposed exile unused to spending so much time alone.

 

Then Ylva came along, a wandering lost soul like him. She was shy and wary of him, and he had to earn her trust. Thor had an easier time seducing blushing maidens than winning her over at first. But the effort had been well worth it, he found a quiet sort of contentment with her.

 

Like Hermione, Thor learned a lot about his new roommate. For one thing she was a bathroom hog. Thor had just finished training in the remote mountains near Oppland. Covered in sweat and grime, he arrived home via the bifrost ready for a bath.

 

"You're still in here?" Thor asked surprised when he entered their now shared bathroom. He propped his arm against the opened door frame leaning against it. He had filled that bathtub up in the morning before he left. Hours later, Ylva was right where he had left her soaking in the tub.

 

"You must really love baths," Thor remarked as he crossed the small space to stand over her. The water would be cold by now, and she should have jumped out hours ago.

 

But no, nesting comfortably in the tub, her head resting on the tub's wide rim, Hermione stirred from her sleep. Wrinkling her nose, she smelled the forest, sweat, sea, and that ever permeating leather scent. It seemed even more pronounced in the crowded steamy bathroom.

 

Blinking her sleepy eyes open, she groaned at the sight of Thor looking down at her.  _When did he get back?_ Hermione realized she must have fallen asleep as she let out a yawn _._  She shifted around the tub lazily, but made no move to get up. Closing her eyes again she sighed contently shutting out Thor and the rest of the world.

 

Dipping his fingers into the bathwater he was surprised that it was just as warm as it had been hours ago.  _Interesting._ His eyes narrowed suspiciously at Ylva, who continued to ignore him.

 

Thor sighed and shook his head. He flicked his index finger splashing a bit of water at her head. "Come now, you have been in there long enough. My turn now." He kicked off his boots and started unlacing his arm bracers.

 

Hermione whined.  _Five more minutes, please._ The warm water was heavenly, and she was not ready to get out.

 

Thor unbuckled the straps of his leather plackart before slipping it off. It landed on the tiled floor with a heavy thud. He crossed his arms over his bare chest amused at her fondness for baths. He had never met a creature that loved baths like Ylva.

 

Feeling generous, Thor leaned down and gave her a final warning."You have been sitting in the bath for hours. It is fine if you want to stay, but I'm coming in regardless," Thor said despite knowing that the both of them could not actually fit in the tub, but he couldn't resist. It was strange, but adorable how flustered she got every time she saw him in any state of undress.

 

Thor smirked when Hermione's eyes snapped open. That got her attention, but not in the way Thor had thought.

 

 _Hours? That's impossible. How?_  She did not remember falling asleep and the water was still warm.  _The water was still warm!_  Suddenly a realization dawned on her, she performed accidental magic! She must have somehow subconsciously casted a stasis charm to keep the bath water warm. It was not a particularly difficult or complex spell seeing how it was found in first year charm textbooks. Hope swelled up in her chest. She performed magic for the first time since she transformed into a wolf.

 

Hermione immediately jumped out of the tub excitedly sloshing water everywhere on the tiled floor. Thor stepped out of her way amused by her abrupt change in demeanor. She quickly shook herself off dousing Thor with droplets of water.

 

Hermione grabbed a fluffy towel before exiting the bathroom. Taking her favorite spot in front of the fireplace, she carefully laid down the towel before settling comfortably on the floor. She took a deep breath to clear her mind. She tried to cast a drying charm on herself by concentrating on her magic, reciting the spell verbally in her head, and visualizing the wand movements. Magic was more than incantations and correct wand movements, intent mattered a lot too.

 

Minutes passed by and nothing happened much to her frustration and disappointment. Wandless magic was challenging for even the most gifted wizards and witches. Magic can be performed without wands, but it required a dedicated and disciplined study beyond the standard educational curriculum most wizarding schools offered including Hogwarts. Most young wizards and witches did not bother to learn it since the amount of effort it took outweighed the ease and benefit of using a wand instead. Much like how muggle engineers, accountants, mathematicians, and physicists do not bother to calculate complicated equations by hand when they have access to a calculator or computer. Like the muggle computer, wizards invented wands to make everyday life easier for themselves to the point where they became a necessity that most cannot function without.

 

Hermione was about to give up when she felt her magic activate. A tingling warmth danced across her skin heating her fur. Her spell was not potent enough to fully dry her leaving her fur slightly damp. Her inner perfectionist wanted to disparage herself for an execution failure, but for once she let herself enjoy her small victory.

 

Thor skimmed his fingers over the warm water. He had not drained the bath yet. He detected subtle traces of magic laced through the water. It was so faint that he almost missed it the first time he touched the water.  _Loki_. Having grown up in a family of Seidrs, Thor was exposed to enough magic to recognize it. While Loki had always claimed to be the black sheep, Thor was the only one in the family that did not practice magic.

 

Odin may have been a skilled warrior and tactician known for his physical poweress much like Thor, but he practiced magical arts as easily as he wielded a sword. That was the edge Odin had over his enemies making him nearly invincible on the battlefield. Thor did not have the same aptitude for magic like his brother and his mother. Both him and Loki studied under Frigga when they were children, but when Loki started excelling above and beyond his brother, Thor quit to focus all of his energy on honing his close range combat skills instead.

 

Thor studied Ylva through the opened door. She laid in her usual spot in front of the fireplace her bushy tail flicking excitedly. She looked particularly pleased with herself.

 

Deciding to forgo his bath for now, he approached Ylva in the living room. Sensing Thor, she lifted her head, her brows raised in annoyance thinking Thor had come to tease her as he often did in his half naked state. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes.  _Just a moment ago_   _you were shooing me out of the bathroom._

 

"You're not really a wolf are you?" Thor asked as he crouched down in front of her. How had he not realized this until now. His brother since they were young constantly shape-shifted into different animals to trick him. Having fallen for Loki's pranks many times and consequently getting stabbed for it more than enough times, he should have figured it out much sooner.

 

Hermione held her breath. A nervous excitement filled her. This was her chance! She immediately sat up and faced Thor. She shook her head slowly in an exaggerated fashion.  _He finally figured it out!_

 

Thor's reaction was unexpected. Something akin to anger flashed through his eyes as his hand shot out snatching her throat. He gripped her neck tightly lifting her slightly until her front legs lost contact with the ground. Hermione's fur bristled reacting with shock and terror at Thor's sudden assault. She could barely breathe. Thor's face was hard and unreadable. Hermione suddenly panicked thinking that perhaps he was angry. That he thought she had purposely deceived him, and she had no way of explaining herself. That realization filled her with dread.

 

Thor never liked being made a fool. He thought he knew his brother well enough to see through his disguises. Hell, he thought he knew his father well enough to at least recognize an impostor. But when Loki banished Odin to Earth and assumed his identity without Thor's knowledge, he was reminded of how cunning and dangerous Loki really was.

 

Thor loved Loki probably more than anything in the universe. He was his brother blood or not, but Thor did not trust him. Like Thor had said, their paths had diverged long ago and since then there was always a level of mistrust between the two brothers. Thor while forgiving was always waiting for his brother to betray him.

 

"Brother," Thor's expression darkened dangerously, "show yourself." This was part of their game. Loki's deceit and Thor exposing his deceit by force if necessary.

 

Hermione's gasp caught in her constricted throat.  _He thinks I'm Loki!_   _Of course!_  His brother was a skilled shape-shifter with a knack for coming back from the dead. She struggled trying to break free of his hold clawing at his bare torso and arms.  _What is he made out of? Steel?_ Despite her best efforts, her claws barely even scratched his impenetrable skin.

 

Thor not the least bit phased by her attacks, "Loki! I know it is you. I'll admit. This is a very clever ruse. Disguising yourself as a wolf invoking the memory of our father, but now you have been discovered. Reveal yourself," he commanded tightening his grip.

 

 _I would if I could!_ She wanted to say but all that came out was a squeak as Thor squeezed her throat. Hermione felt her eyes watering. She was on the verge of tears; she was so terrified. She continued to thrash and whine trying to tug her head of out of his grip. She was probably going to choke herself on his unbreakable hold trying to get away.

 

Loki had faked his death so many times. Thor had seen Loki die no less than three times and had mourned and cried for him every single time. Each time he confronted his undead brother, Loki seemed to always casually dismiss Thor's grief. Never acknowledging the pain he put Thor through. He understood that Loki felt distant from him once his true parentage was revealed. While it changed nothing in Thor's eyes, it changed everything in Loki's.

 

"This is not funny anymore. Forcing me to watch you die," Thor choked his voice hoarse with anguish. His entire body shook with anger and with such force that Hermione could feel the vibrations pulsing through her body. She could feel his anger and his hurt.

 

Hermione stilled and whimpered helplessly still trapped in his vice grip.

 

He released her throat and she inhaled deeply, but her reprieve was short. Thor gripped her face with his hands pressing his forehead to hers. "Loki, enough with your schemes, enough with your tricks," his voice low, his chest heaving slowly.

 

"What is your endgame, Loki? You think it fun to deceive me?" Thor's eyes softened a bit. "There is no more throne to steal, no more people to rule over. No father to win over. Why are you hiding?" he asked. His anger lessened replaced with a desperation that scared her even more. Hermione winced as his fingers dug into her fur painfully. Thor had been nothing but gentle with her up to this point. She remembered the terrifying god she had first met when the fog parted.

 

Thor did not want to be angry at Loki. He had redeemed himself when he saved their people from Ragnarok, but then he had to take the damn tesseract from the vault. The tesseract that led Thanos to them.

 

Thor froze, his grip around Hermione loosened. Did he blame Loki for the massacre of their people? No, if only he had been strong enough, if only he fought harder. His people were dead because he failed to protect them not anything Loki did or did not do.

 

Hermione felt herself shaking uncontrollably. She squeezed her eyes shut. That same tingling sensation from earlier rippled through her body, then suddenly the intensity magnified tenfold. She broke away from Thor's grasp as the fire consumed the living room torching everything in its path.

 

Thor snapped out of his guilt trip and immediately jumped to his feet to put out the fire. He raced into the bathroom and seized the bathtub full of water ripping it out of the ground. With a roar he hurled it through the doorway at the fireplace. The water sizzled as it made contact with the flames bursting into thick clouds of steam and smoke.

 

When the smoke finally cleared, Thor surveyed the wreckage. The fire torched most of the furniture including the couch and the rug so he would have to replace those, and the cracked bathtub that currently sat in his living room. A large black scorch mark stained the wet floor and blackened the stonework around the fireplace. The bathroom doorway was wider than it should be and a detached door laid on the ground ripped from its hinges when the tub collided with it. Water flooded the bathroom from the exposed and broken pipes, so much for trying to save his house from the fire. He felt a cold breeze and looked up to see the door opened and Ylva gone.

* * *

Hermione fled to the safety of the woods and then she continued running like she was being chased. Every so often she glanced back to make sure she was not being followed. When she was a child her parents took her to the British Natural History Museum. They held a special exhibition on wolves from around the world. She learned that day that wolves could travel as far as 40 - 50 kilometers a day, and she decided to put that theory to the test by putting as much distance as possible between her and Thor.

 

 _Thor_. What had she been thinking? He showed her some kindness, and she ate it up greedily, trusting him all too easily. She shook her head at her own foolishness. Mad Eye Moody would be angry and disappointed at how easily she dropped her guard.

 

Clearly, Thor had some unresolved grievances with his brother, and she was unfortunately caught in the middle of it. Not to mention she might have burned down his house when she unintentionally casted engorgio on the lit fireplace. Accident or not, Thor would not be happy with her either way.

 

Hermione crossed the bridge over the frozen creek. She had entered into an unfamiliar territory. She did not know where she was going and did not have a plan beyond getting as far away from Thor as possible. The trees blurred past her as she picked up speed. Her lungs burned starved for oxygen. She gulped down the icy cold air; it burned her bruised throat and stung her insides unpleasantly like she had just inhaled a thousand prickly needles.

 

She ran as fast as she could, and she soon tired. Not able to continue at her current pace, she slowed to a stop. The surroundings were unfamiliar to her and she hoped that Thor would not find her here. Still trembling, Hermione slumped to the near frozen ground. Panting, she closed her eyes as she got some much needed rest. This was for the best she told herself. She grew complacent playing house with Thor. Realistically she could not masquerade as his pet forever no matter how much she enjoyed his companionship. Their relationship was a lie, she was not who he thought she was.

 

Looking up at the sky, she saw the first few flakes of snow gently falling. The first snow of the season always evoked memories of lit fireplaces in the common room, warm butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks, knit jumpers and woolen hats from Mrs. Weasley. As tired as she was, she needed to pick herself up and keep moving.

 

This time she moved at a sustainable pace with enough haste to cover a large enough distance without tiring herself out. The longer she traveled through the woods, the heavier the snow fell blanketing the ground. She left tracks on the snow covered ground much to her worry. Not able to cover her tracks she just kept moving hoping the increasing snowfall buried her tracks. The sun had started to set, but the snow did not abate. She needed to find shelter soon so she quickened her pace.

 

Her acute hearing picked up a sound in the distance. The sound was intermittent and faint at first. Her blood ran cold when she realized it was the sound of her name. Well, the name Thor had given her. He was calling and searching for her. Not wasting another second she took off into a full sprint. The trees rushed by her. Her powerful hind legs kicked up the powdery snow leaving clouds of white dust in her wake as she ran as fast as she could away from the source of the sound, away from Thor.

 

All of the sudden the trees disappeared from her view when she breached the boundary of the woods. She came to a full stop finding herself in the open staring at an expansive field of white, snow covered ground. She could see tiny houses in the distance and fences partitioning the land.

 

A loud gunshot rang through the air. She looked down to see a splattering of blood on the snow before her vision blurred. The adrenaline in her veins fading replaced with a sharp localized burning pain that quickly radiated throughout her left side. The pain was incomparable to anything she had ever felt. She should not have the left the safety of the woods. Gritting her teeth, she whimpered and limped back into the woods hoping that her assailant would not pursue her. She had nowhere to go now. Collapsing onto the soft snow, she closed her eyes sinking into the coldness. The snow had finally stopped falling.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione opened her eyes slowly. It was so quiet that for a brief moment she thought she had lost her hearing. She blinked a few times trying to acclimate herself to the stark, bright whiteness of her surroundings. Groaning she rolled over onto her back. The ground felt cold and wet against her skin. From her vantage point on the ground she saw the tall pine trees spring up out of the ground converging and disappearing into the overcast sky.

 

Startled, she propped herself up. Her eyes widened as she took in her new surroundings. A moment ago there was nothing but a blinding whiteness, but now she found herself lying on the snow covered ground of a barren forest. A feeling of deja vu came over her. She was lost in a familiar place. Looking down she gasped surprised to see herself in her human form. She examined her limbs mesmerized by the shape of her hands and the familiar paleness of her skin. The spell had broken.

 

Feeling her face and hair, Hermione was not a vain person, but having not seen herself in such a long time, she suddenly had an urge to find a mirror to reaffirm who she was. She frowned when she realized she was still wearing that godforsaken dress definitely inappropriate for the both setting and the cold weather. She pushed herself off the ground standing up on two legs for the first time in months. Dusting the snow off herself, she looked up again to the sky just as the first few flakes of snow started to fall.

 

"Hermione, come inside. It's cold out there," a familiar voice called out to her.

 

Turning around she saw her dead best friend poking his head out of a tent. Her mouth parted in surprise ready to fire a few choice words at him. She had not yet forgiven him for leaving them to face Voldemort by himself. He didn't even say goodbye, but she was too stunned at the moment to say anything.

 

"Hermione," he called again trying to get her attention. Understandably she was shocked to see him. He smiled knowing that giant brain of hers was working in overdrive trying to process this moment. "I made tea. Get in here," Harry said before he disappeared into the tent.

 

The snow crunched beneath her bare feet as she quickly followed after him eager to get out of the cold. Parting the flaps of the tent she entered only to be greeted by a much too familiar sight. Unmade beds, clothes strewn about, it looked like three teenagers lived there without any adult supervision. This was the exact same tent they lived in while they were horcrux hunting during their seventh year. She picked up Harry's discarded jumper and pulled it over her head before taking her seat at the messy table that was littered with books, maps, and notes. The interior of the tent felt pleasantly warm, but she didn't like being so exposed

 

She heard the clinking of cups and saucers as Harry assembled a tray of tea in their small kitchenette. After putting the final touches on the tray, he finally emerged from the kitchenette.

 

"Ah! Here we go. I bet it's been a while since you've had some proper English tea, yeah?" He carefully set the tray down on an empty spot on the table.

 

Hermione didn't respond too busy trying to piece together the sequence of events that led her here. She remembered running through the forest, a loud bang, followed by an unimaginable searing pain before blacking out.

 

"I made your favorite by the way. A nice dark darjeeling," Harry said as he plopped down on the seat across from her. He gave her a winning smile before fussing with the cups and saucers.

 

Inhaling the rich, spicy aroma, she felt warmed by the smell and the associated memories. She watched as Harry started serving the tea unable to take her eyes off of him fearing that if she blinked or looked away for even a second he will vanish. He hummed a jaunty little tune as he worked like nothing was out of the ordinary, while Hermione shifted anxiously in her seat.

 

"Harry?"

 

"Yes?" he answered. His eyes did not meet hers as he focused entirely on pouring the steaming hot tea into her cup. Still unsettled and confused, Hermione forgot her manners and did not thank him.

 

"Is this...Is this a dream?"

 

"I think you already know the answer to that," Harry responded still not looking at her, which annoyed her.

 

Hermione swallowed uncomfortably, "am I dead?"

 

"Not exactly," Harry replied but did not elaborate any further. He scooped two teaspoons of sugar into her cup just how she liked it.

 

This was surreal for her having tea with Harry. Hermione had read scientific journals that postulated that at the moment of death all the neurons in the brain fired simultaneously like self detonating bombs. The spike in brain activity explained why resuscitated patients often described how they saw a bright white light followed by a montage of memories flashing right before their eyes.

 

She wondered if that was what was happening now. Maybe she was reliving a moment from her life. She must have had tea in this tent with Harry at least a hundred times. If this wasn't a dream then maybe it was a very vivid hallucination.

 

Harry noticed her staring at him, her cup of tea untouched. "Drink up, you're looking a little pale there," Harry said before taking a sip of his own tea. His brilliant green eyes peered over the rim of his cup meeting her gaze.

 

Hermione picked up her tea warming her hands with it, but did not take a drink. She had several questions on the tip of her tongue waiting for her to pull the trigger.

 

"If I'm not dead, then where are we?" The outside looked like the Forest of Dean, but she doubted that was where they were.

 

"Somewhere in between," Harry said in between sips of tea. "This is…" he casually gestured at the tent and the space between them with his hand "...is sort of a station between the living and the afterlife." That was the best and most easily digestible explanation Harry came up with. Death was a difficult and daunting notion that even the bravest of Gryffindors had trouble swallowing.

 

"Am I dying?"

 

Harry set his cup down and looked at her properly for the first time. No words were needed because the grave expression on his face confirmed it.

 

Hermione inhaled sharply. Her fingers trembled nearly dropping her cup. She knew that already. The last event she remembered was being shot by a muggle most likely, but that did not lessen the blow.  _She was dying._ Hermione thought of all the things she wanted to accomplish: winning the title of head girl, breaking the record of number of O's scored on the NEWTs, graduating from Hogwarts top of her class, flying to Australia to find her parents and restoring their memories, kissing Ron again.

 

And after that, well, she did not really plan beyond surviving the war and school actually. Nonetheless, she had hopes and dreams that will never be realized now. But if she was honest with herself, those hopes and dreams died with Harry. The future where she was head girl and reunited with Ron and her parents died when Voldemort won.

 

Her hands shook as she set down her cup causing it to rattled against the saucer. She buried her face in her hands and took a deep, shaky breath, "what happens when we die?" her voice came out muffled.

 

Harry reached across the table taking one of her hands in his. "It's…not as bad as you think." He gave her a comforting squeeze circling his thumb on the back of her hand. "It's a lot like falling asleep."He remembered Sirius describing it that way and hoped it would comfort her.

 

She looked up, "is there a heaven and hell?" She suddenly worried about whether or not she had been a good enough person tallying up all the bad things she had done in the name of good, disfiguring a fellow classmate, imprisoning a person in a jar, robbing a bank, leading her DADA professor to a pack of angry centaurs. All of those sounded so terrible out of context.  _What was that expression? The path to hell is paved with good intention_ s.

 

"Not in the biblical sense, no. There's no place where the bad people go to be punished. Good and evil are human constructs," Harry shrugged. "There's no absolute authority that measures a person's evilness or goodness."

 

"I suppose that's a relief," Hermione relaxed. For a moment there, she was worried that she was going to have to stand and justify her actions to whatever higher being that was in charge of delivering judgement.

 

"My parents were not very religious. I think I can count on one hand the number of times I've stepped foot in a church. I've maybe attended one Sunday service and the rest were for weddings," she smiled wryly.

 

Harry clicked his tongue. "I didn't have a religious upbringing either, even though the Dursleys attended every Sunday service. Obviously, I wasn't allowed to go with them. They said my magic was proof that satan existed. That's why they went to church every Sunday. They thought it would protect them from the evil my satanic magic brought into their house."

 

They both burst into laughter. Hermione nearly choked on her tea from laughing so hard, and Harry had to wipe away the tears of mirth from the corner of his eyes. Neither of them have laughed like that in a long time.

 

"I mean yeah, at first I was disappointed, no enraged that the Dursleys and Umbridges of the world go to the same place as someone like Cedric Diggory. But once I thought about it. It makes a lot of sense. Heaven and hell is subjective to each individual," Harry rambled.

 

Hermione suppressed a giggle hiding her smile behind her cup of tea. Time spent as a dead person had made Harry quite the philosopher. Clearly he had lots of time to reflect and grow.

 

"For instance my personal hell is watching the ones I love suffering on earth," he continued as he helped himself to more tea, "and not being able to do a thing about it."

 

Hermione frowned disapprovingly and shook her head. Clearly, Harry's hero complex had not died, but followed him into the afterlife. "Harry, why would you torture yourself like that?"

 

"I can't help it, Hermione." He fidgeted with the handle of his empty cup. "So much of what happened was my fault." His gaze fixated on the table unable to meet her eyes. "I failed to kill Voldemort."

 

Hermione swallowed uncomfortably. Tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, "can you tell me how you died?" she asked hesitantly.

 

Harry took a deep breath. He had been anticipating this question since they arrived here. The question itself was taboo among the dead. How someone died was a very personal matter. Asking about it was considered to be very forward and borderline rude. But Hermione was his best friend, and she deserved an explanation. After all he had left her without so much as a goodbye.

 

"I sneaked out underneath my invisibility cloak during the ceasefire to face Voldemort alone. He killed me with an Avada Kedavra."

 

Hermione's throat suddenly felt tight. Turning her head away from him, she felt the tears welling up in her eyes.

 

"Hey. None of that," Harry said as he thumbed away the stray tears with his sleeve. "Hermione, it was quite painless actually," Harry quickly reassured her. "I died instantly. Probably hurt a lot less than getting shot," he laughed softly. "I mean of all of the three unforgiveables, I think we can agree that the cruciatus was the worse," he joked weakly.

 

Hermione glared at him. "But why? Why on earth would you have thought that was a good idea? Facing him alone. We could have come up with a plan.."

 

Harry shook his head, "no."

 

"I would have gone with you," she said quietly.

 

"I know, but I didn't want anyone else dying because of me anymore"

 

"Harry…"

 

"No, Hermione. None of you asked for this. I was the one Voldemort marked as his equal. I was the one he wanted," he sighed running his hands through his messy hair tugging at it in frustration. "This wasn't supposed to be your fight."

 

Hermione took offense to that."How dare you, Harry James Potter!" She slammed down her teacup liquid sloshing over the rim. Harry winced; he thought he heard the delicate porcelain crack upon impact with the table.

 

"From the moment I stepped foot into the wizarding world I had to fight to earn the respect that was denied to me because of my birth." Hermione shot him an angry look. The hurt in her eyes cut into him deeply.

 

Harry's face grew warm as she continued to rant. He was caught off guard by her sudden outburst of righteous anger and indignation, but perhaps he deserved it.

 

"I love you Harry, but I would have been involved in this war regardless of whether or not we had been friends. Or have you forgotten about this?" She laid her arm on the table and rolled up her sleeve to display the hideous scar. "I didn't have a choice either."

 

Harry paled at the sight of the scar. A reminder of his unchecked arrogance that landed them in a nightmarish situation they barely escaped from. He could still hear her screams and see Dobby's lifeless eyes.

 

"Of course I remember this," he reached for her, his hand grasping her wrist gently, "because it was my fault," his voice was soft and pained.

 

Hermione hung her head and exhaled audibly. She wanted to scream in frustration. "You're missing the point! Not everything is about you, Harry! I have my own motivations to fight in this war outside of you."

 

She snatched her arm away. "Look at it! What does it say? Mudblood!" Holding up her arm, she traced the hated words etched into her skin. "I was targeted from the day I was born. Maybe I wasn't selected because I was prophesied to defeat the dark lord, but they were going to come after me no matter what."

 

"So don't tell me that this wasn't my fight." She forcefully shoved the sleeve down her arm satisfied that she got her message across.

 

Harry stunned into silence tried to open his mouth to form a coherent response, but nothing came out. Had Neville been chosen instead, he would have been just another half-blood. He wouldn't have had to face the Ministry inquisition. Even if they had defeated Voldemort, Harry wasn't naive enough to believe that the prejudice against muggleborns would instantly disappear. That kind of bigotry was deeply ingrained, deep enough for someone like Voldemort to exploit in the first place.

 

They sat in silence for a moment reflecting on the words exchanged, awkwardly fidgeting and sipping their nearly cold tea.

 

Finally Harry spoke first breaking the tense silence. "I'm sorry Hermione. I didn't mean to diminish you and your role in the war. You were fighting not just for me or even for yourself, but for people like Remus, Hagrid, Dobby… Anyone that has ever been marginalized because they were different."

 

Harry averted his gaze absently tracing the rim of his teacup with his finger. "Please know that I don't even have the words to express how much your sacrifices mean to me. You and Ron both put yourself in unnecessary danger because of me. I just wished I didn't let you guys down."

 

"Maybe if you didn't run off on your own..." she began restarting the previous argument with a fervent edge to her voice. If this was going to be her eternity rehashing arguments with Harry then maybe she was creating her own personal hell. "You walked into a fight outnumbered and thought you were going to win? Ser-"

 

"Hermione, stop! Listen to me," Harry interrupted not wanting the conversation to devolve into a shouting match. "I left because I had to die."

 

"What? What are you talking about?" Hermione's brows furrowed in confusion. Neither a fan of divination nor a believer of the prophecy, but she knew the accepted interpretation was that Harry had to kill Voldemort as neither could live while the other survived. "What do you mean  _you_ had to die? No one had to die except for Voldemort."

 

"Snape gave me his memories before he died. During the cease fire, I went into Dumbledore's office to use his pensieve. I found out loads of stuff about Dumbledore. And Snape was not who we thought he was. I mean yeah he was still a complete dickwad of a teacher. But get this," Harry paused excitedly, "he was also a bloody double agent! Except he was on our side the entire time! Not Voldemort's like we had thought. Dumbledore was going to die, so he made Snape promise to kill him so Draco wouldn't have to do it. He was a brilliant spy, really."

 

"Hmmm…" Hermione nodded sheepishly not giving Harry the shock and awe reaction he had desired. Harry seemed to have a newfound respect for their former potions professor.

 

"He also had a bit of a thing for my mum," Harry shuddered, "which was why when Voldemort killed her he switched sides and vowed to pro-"

 

"Harry, please get to the point."

 

"I am," Harry reassured her annoyed she was not more enthralled about Snape's redemption. "Anyways, it turns out on the night my parents were murdered that Voldemort created a seventh horcrux that not even he knew about."

 

Hermione nearly dropped her teacup. Suddenly the pieces came together and clicked in Hermione's brain. How could she have missed this? Harry speaking parseltongue, the telepathic connection he had with Voldemort. It was so obvious!

 

"I was the seventh horcrux Voldemort created when the killing curse rebounded. Voldemort was not going to die unless I die also."

 

The revelation gutted her like a knife. Hermione suddenly felt overwhelmed with anger and sadness. He sacrificed himself. Of course, Harry was always so selfless and brave. She wished she could have done something. Anything, found a way to separate the horcrux from his person.

 

"You should have told me. We could have figured something out."

 

"No, we wouldn't have," Harry shook his head adamantly, "Dumbledore knew the entire time. If he couldn't figure it out..."

 

"Dumbledore knew?!" Her shock quickly turned into rage. Their beloved headmaster was just going to let Harry die.

 

"Well yes, Snape and Dumbledore worked together to make sure I die at the right moment and not any sooner. Remember the snitch Dumbledore gave me? Remember what it said?"

 

Hermione nodded,"I open at the close."

 

"When I was ready to die, it opened for me. Inside was the resurrection stone."

 

Hermione wrinkled her brow looking at him skeptically. "But the Deathly Hallows ar-"

 

"Are real," Harry finished. "I didn't die alone. I used the resurrection stone to summon my parents, Remus, and Sirius. Only Voldemort could not see them. They were with me the entire time."

 

"So the resurrection stone can't actually bring the dead back to life?"

 

"No, because you can't cheat death."

 

Hermione nodded. She figured that much after all that was the whole lesson behind the "Tale of the Three Brothers." So Dumbledore had given the resurrection stone to Harry, but it only revealed itself when Harry was ready to die. That was probably a calculated decision on Dumbledore's part, dangling Harry's deceased loved ones in front him, so he doesn't back out of his decision to sacrifice himself.

 

"How are you not angry about any of this?"

 

"Hermione, I'm already dead. Besides, I made the decision on my own. I would do it again because there was no other way to defeat Voldemort."

 

"But we lost."

 

"I know."

 

"How can you possibly feel guilty? You didn't let us down. If anything we let you down. You gave up your life for us." Her eyes teared up again for round two.

 

"I still wished you would have told me."

 

"If I did, you would have tried to stop me." Harry left out the part where he did look for her and Ron before he ran into Neville on his way out of the castle.

 

Hermione shook her head in frustration. Tears spilled from her eyes splattering onto the table. "There must have been another way."

 

"No, there wasn't." He rubbed her shoulder comfortingly as she quietly wept.

 

"Oh don't be like that. You would have thrown a petrificus totalus at me and hidden me in a broom closet with a fidelius charm with you as the secret keeper."

 

"Oh, Harry..." Hermione sniffled. She was full on crying now wiping her tears with the sleeve of the jumper. Harry's jumper. "Did you want to die?"

 

"No! Of course not!" he huffed incredulously. "I was seventeen. I didn't want to be the boy who lived. I wanted to throttle that stupid bint Trelawney for opening her stupid mouth. Then I wanted to punch Voldemort's stupid noseless face for being dumb enough to fall for such a cryptic prophecy and then self-fulfilling said prophecy!" Harry ranted. He felt oddly liberated saying these things out loud. When he was alive, he felt he had to play the role of hero willing or not, everyone expected him step up, and he did so without any complaints for the most part.

 

He sighed and slumped back into his seat, the tenseness in his body leaving. He looked tired and defeated."I wanted to play quidditch professionally. Get married. Have a family of my own."

 

Hermione's heart ached for him. Harry never had any control over his short life. He experienced so much darkness in his life starting with the death of parents, being placed in the custody of his abusive relatives, constantly risking his life for the greater good. The irony that he was able to scrape together enough happy memories to cast the most powerful patronus charm she had ever seen was not lost on her.

 

"Maybe we never stood a chance," Harry reluctantly admitted. He didn't like the idea that he died in vain "Voldemort is the most powerful wizard since Dumbledore. He commanded an army of spiders, inferi, and giants. I mean, we were just teenagers for Godric's sake! Fighting grown up Death Eaters! Hell, aside from our third year we didn't even have a consistent curriculum on how to defend ourselves."

 

"You were a great teacher Harry," Hermione gave him a small smile. She cherished those memories they made in the room of requirement: casting a patronus charm for the first time, the shared camaraderie among the DA, watching Harry come into his own as a leader.

 

Harry smiled remembering how Hermione basically twisted his arm until he agreed to start Dumbledore's Army with her during their fifth year."You always believed in me Hermione. More than anyone else." His smile faded into a serious expression, "and you always stuck by me no matter what."

 

"Of course," her eyes glistened tenderly with her leftover tears, "I love you Harry."

 

"I love you too, Hermione."

 

"So what do we do now?"

 

"We wait."

* * *

Thor had no idea where he was. He had ventured into unfamiliar territory hours ago. He stood alone in the middle of a snow covered forested area. His eyes continued to search his surroundings, but there was no sign of her. He exhaled deeply, his warm breath froze as it mingled with the chilly air. The cold didn't bother him though, and he was prepared to search all night if it came to that. Thor had already searched for hours and found nothing. Night had descended along with more snow. His anger had faded but his frustration persisted.

 

"LOKI!" Thor called. He imagined his brother watching from afar laughing and mocking him for not being able to find him, which reignited his anger.

 

"LOKI!" Thor yelled again but no response save for the echos.

 

"YLVA!" he screamed frustrated by the silence.

 

"Ylva, please…" his plea carried a sense of desperation and remorse, "I'm sorry."

 

He had the last few hours to mull over what had happened. As per usual he acted without thinking. In the heat of the moment he had been so sure that Loki was playing another trick on him. Now he was not so sure anymore.

 

And that thought disappointed him greatly. He would give anything to see Loki again.

 

He started moving again.

 

"YLVA!"

 

Thor's voice carried over great distances thanks to his powerful vocal cords. He briefly wondered if it was wise to call out her name. Doing so gave away his position alerting her of his presence. She ran away from him after all.

 

Then he spotted some animal tracks. Lucky for him they were paw prints. The spacing indicated that it was a four legged creature roughly the size of a wolf. Finally after searching aimlessly for hours, he had a lead. They looked fresh so she must be nearby. He interpreted the appearance of the tracks as a sign that perhaps Loki had forgiven him. He quickly followed the tracks. The snow continued to fall, and he did not want to lose his trail.

 

A loud  _crack_! in the distance stopped him in his tracks. Fear pumping through his blood, he abandoned the paw prints and ran toward the direction of the sound.

 

What he found was a small hunting party consisting of three men carrying rifles. At the sight of the menacing god in his armor, they fired a few shots out of self defense. But when the bullets bounced off of Thor leaving him unscathed, they immediately ran for it.

 

Thor leaped in front of one that was heading toward the hills effectively cutting off his path of escape. The man immediately dropped his weapon and held up his hands in surrender screaming in Norwegian.

 

"What were you hunting?!" Thor demanded in allspeak. He grabbed the front of his shirt lifting him off his feet until he was staring into the angry eyes of a god. Thor was a whole head taller than the cowering man.

 

"W-Wolf. It was a wolf!"

 

Thor's expression changed from anger to absolute fury. "That wolf was mine," he growled.

 

Thor threw the man to the ground. He immediately scrambled backwards as Thor loomed over him in a threatening manner.

 

"P-Please sir," the man pleaded. He laid at Thor's feet quivering in fear. "I d-didn't know. Please have mercy," the poor man begged.

 

"Where did you see this wolf?"

 

"There!" he pointed a shaky finger to the edge of the forest.

 

Without another word Thor flew toward the cluster of trees. Landing with a thump on the ground, he began his search in earnest for tracks in the snow, which he found along with blood. The red contrasted sharply with the white snow.

 

The snow crunched loudly beneath his heavy boots. The sound drowned out by his deafening heartbeat as he followed the trail of blood into the forest.

 

He stopped abruptly but his gaze continued following the bloody drippings until his eyes landed on a prone body. Recognizing the familiar toffee colored fur, he rushed over to her. She laid on her side, eyes closed like she was asleep. Dropping to his knees, he gingerly placed his hand on her thick fur. He felt her shallow labored breaths and the warmth leaving her body. She was dying.

 

Then he exhaled the breath he was holding. This wasn't Loki. Loki couldn't be hurt by such mundane weapons.

 

Thor didn't know whether to feel relief or disappointment.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: When I was researching about the wolf population in Norway, I found out that they were actively hunted despite their critically endangered status. So I really wanted to include that with this particular scene of Thor confronting the hunters.
> 
> Also I decided to add the element of the scar on Hermione's arm even though I was going for book canon up until the AU divergent part where Voldemort wins. Such as Harry not saying goodbye to Hermione and Ron before he went to the Forbidden Forest like he did in the movies. I think the scar was one of those wonderful additions from the movies that made the story much more compelling and powerful. It reminds me why I love fanfiction and why it's okay to diverge from canon.


	7. Chapter 7

Bruce had not fallen asleep for more than a few hours before a loud crash followed by "BANNER!" woke him up. "Sir, Thor has arrived. He has entered the building and is looking for you," the AI announced a second later. Rubbing his eyes tiredly, "yeah, I got that, thank you." Bruce sleepily rolled over to the still warm vacated spot next to him and groaned. The lights in his room flickered on much to his annoyance, and he noticed that Natasha was already gone.

 

Grabbing his glasses he kicked off the blankets. Not bothering with shoes, he hurried out the door into a maze of hallways. "Where is he in the compound?" he didn't need to wait for an answer from the AI before he heard Thor bellowing his name again. "The main atrium, sir." The dark hallways lighted up triggered by motion sensors as Bruce followed the sound of Thor's distress call until he reached the atrium.

 

Bruce's sleep deprived brain could not quite process the sight in front of him. Natasha clad in her silk robe was already at the scene trying to calm a very distraught Thor. He was holding what looked to be a very large dog. It just laid there limply in his arms appearing to be dead. "Oh no, not again," Bruce groaned.

 

"BANNER!" Thor roared as if Bruce stood five hundred feet away instead of just five feet. "You have to help her," he asserted. He pushed past Natasha and thrusted a wounded Ylva in his face.

 

Bruce's eyes widened upon closer inspection when he realized the animal Thor was holding in his arms protectively was definitely not a dog. He looked past Thor to Natasha who shook her head in warning.

 

"Thor," Bruce sighed tiredly, "you gotta stop bringing me these wild and dangerous dead animals," he instantly regretted it when the words left his mouth.

 

Natasha buried her face in her hands shaking her head exasperatedly.

 

"Ylva's not dead!" Thor shouted. He still felt her heartbeat weak as it was against his chest. "And she is no animal!" Thor growled. "She's…" Thor didn't have the words to articulate what she was. He already established that she wasn't a wolf or Loki.

 

"I have no idea what she is," Thor admitted. He looked down at her as he cradled her closer, "but I need your help. It's my fault that she is hurt. You have to save her, please. I beg of you."

 

Bruce took a deep breath. His friend had definitely lost his mind. Clearly, they had left Thor alone far too long if he was befriending woodland creatures. Dangerous woodland creatures.

 

Natasha placed a hand on Thor's shoulder. "Thor, calm down. We're going to do everything we can to help her, right Bruce?" She slanted her head towards him giving him a threatening look as if she dared him to say otherwise.

 

Bruce looked from Thor's anguished face to Natasha's expectant expression and sighed in surrender.

 

"Okay, okay, I'll help," Bruce gave in. He recognized that he was outnumbered and besides he was not the type of person to not help a living thing in need. "Let's take her down to the infirmary."

 

Bruce was reasonably confident in his abilities to handle the situation besides it's not like they could page a veterinarian in the middle of the night to treat a potentially dangerous wild animal.

 

While Bruce may not be a board certified medical doctor or a veterinarian for that matter, he possessed enough knowledge in physiology and medicine thanks to his stint in medical school as a MD/PhD candidate to pass as a doctor. He later dropped the MD from what would be the first of seven PhDs when he decided to pursue his true passion, research, with only a few rotation credits short of graduating. Nonetheless, when he sought to do some good in the world to atone for the destruction he caused as the Hulk, he returned to practicing medicine. While it was not ethically or legally sound to practice unlicensed, he helped fill a vital need by treating the impoverished and underserved.

 

More importantly at the moment he was the only one in the building that could help Thor. Normally he would have paged the on call doctor, but ironically she was away having to deal with a family related medical emergency earlier this evening and will not return for some time making Bruce the unofficial doctor on call. The three of them hurried down the hall to the medical bay area, which thankfully was not far and easily accessible.

 

The doors slid open automatically and the lights switched on immediately when they entered. Thor gently laid her on the nearest examination table. Bruce retrieved a first aid kit, a surgical tray, and some bags of IV fluids. He also rolled over a couple of machines and turned them on.

 

"Okay, what do we have here?" Bruce asked as he hastily donned some latex gloves. "Where is the bleeding coming from?"

 

"GSW, penetrating the left scapula. No exit wound," Natasha answered. She had already identified the source of the bleeding and placed her hands on the wound applying a firm pressure to stem the blood flow. Natasha may not be a doctor either, but she had been shot enough times to know basic first aid.

 

Thor hovered around them anxiously. Covered in blood not his own, he looked like he just committed murder. "Well? Can you save her?" Thor asked impatiently. He stood directly behind Bruce looking over his shoulder.

 

"I'm not sure," Bruce answered honestly. He never lied to patients or their families except for the part where he wasn't a licensed doctor. That he always omitted not that his patients really minded. Healthcare wasn't so regulated in third world countries. He pressed his ear against her ribcage and could detect a very faint heartbeat. "But I will do my best," Bruce replied earnestly; that was not a lie.

 

Bruce first took a safety razor to shave a small patch of her fur so he could stick the pulse oximetry sensor onto her skin to monitor her vitals. The machine hummed as it came to life and beeped to indicate a pulse had been detected.

 

"Is that a good sign?" Thor asked looking at the squiggly lines moving across the beeping monitor.

 

"Yes, her heart is beating strong enough for the machine to pick it up. She's still alive, but barely."

 

Thor exhaled an audible sigh of relief. He continued to crowd into their space as they worked watching nervously. When he accidentally knocked over a very expensive machine sending it crashing to the ground with a loud bang, Natasha nearly lost her composure. She shot him a withering glare.

 

"Thor, either stand over there quietly or I'm kicking you out," Natasha said as tactfully as a person that had been woken up at 3 am in the morning to perform emergency surgery on a wild animal could. Being such a good friend, she didn't even question why she was standing in her nightie in the middle of the night consoling a god and trying to save his injured pet wolf, but she supposed she had been in stranger situations than this.

 

Thor's entire body tensed defensively at the suggestion. His fists clenched tightly by his side. He stubbornly stayed where he was reluctant to leave her side.

 

"She's right Thor, why don't you step outside for a moment. Grab a shower or some food?" Bruce suggested helpfully. "This has been a rough night for you too. Nat and I have this covered. We'll take care of her."

 

Thor was clearly attached to this creature, which worried Bruce a bit. Bruce had a thousand questions but pushed them aside to focus on the task at hand.

 

Thor hesitated for a moment before he nodded wordlessly and exited the infirmary. He didn't want to leave her, but he had enough self-awareness to realize he was being more distracting than helpful. Bruce and Natasha both let out a collective sigh of relief. Thor's presence in the room only exacerbated the tenseness of the life and death situation at hand.

 

"Alright big guy, what's the game plan?"

 

"Let's clean the wound first," Bruce said as he popped open a bottle of sterilized water from the first aid kit. "Then we extract the bullet, seal the opening, then check the rest of the body for any additional injuries."

 

Natasha exhaled a deep breath and nodded, "sounds good, let's do this." She was out of her element now, but she had confidence in Bruce and was ready to follow his lead.

 

"Okay Nat, I need you to carefully move your hand." Natasha lifted her bloodied hands from the body. The bleeding had slowed which was a good sign. Bruce irrigated the bullet hole working quickly. "Hand me those forceps from the tray next to you." Natasha complied wordlessly. They worked seamlessly as a team.

 

"Thank you." He quickly ripped opened the packet containing the sterilized forceps while Natasha used the aspirator to suck up the excess blood and fluid to prepare the wound for extraction.

 

"I need an unobstructed view of the extraction site." He probably should have taken an X-ray, but time was precious, so he was going in blind. He grabbed the overhead lamp and shined the light on where the bullet entered the body.

 

Natasha carefully gathered the fur around the shoulder with her fingers exposing the small hole.

 

Taking his forceps, Bruce carefully extracted the bullet depositing it onto a metal tray. Removing the bullet was like opening a dam. The blood gushed out and her blood pressure dropped precipitously causing the machine to beep loudly in warning. Natasha quickly grabbed some sterile towels from the kit and reapplied pressure to the wound.

 

"What do we do now? Should we stitch her up?"

 

"Nah, we have to fix the bleed first before we close her up. Or she'll die from internal bleeding. I've got an idea."

 

Bruce reached into a drawer and grabbed a small glass cylinder filled with tiny shimmering blue beads. "I just developed these. It's bio-organic nanotech. They work by activating stem cells healing the damaged tissue. I invented it to be used by combat medics in the field, but now would be a good a time as any to use it."

 

"Okay, just tell me what to do. We're running out of time here," Natasha said urgently. She felt the blood soaking through the layers of towels.

 

"I'm going to need you to remove the packing and suction a little bit of the blood. Just enough for the beads to go in."

 

Natasha nodded. She carefully removed the towel and sucked a bit of the blood out with the aspirator.

 

Bruce opened the lid and carefully tipped the contents into the open wound. Upon contact with her flesh the beads activated sealing the wound. The seal held and the machine's beeping returned to its normal rhythm.

 

They both exhaled in relief. Bruce double checked the monitor and her heartbeat was still faint, but steady.

 

"Good job," Bruce said as he high-fived Natasha's bloody hand.

 

"Let's not ever do this again," Natasha grimaced. She was covered in dried blood and fur. She wanted a shower and a nap.

 

"I'm gonna take a few X-rays and scans to see if we missed anything. Why don't you go and find Thor?"

 

"Is she going to be okay?"

 

"Yeah, I think so."

 

Natasha left to find Thor. Donning a lead vest out of habit more than necessity, Bruce pulled the portable x-ray machine from overhead and began taking images. The X-rays were clean free of any additional trauma. The bullet missed her vital organs thankfully.

 

He worried about the amount of blood loss she had sustained. He did not know what the normal range of blood pressure was for a wolf, but the numbers on the monitor indicated it was low enough to render a human unconscious, which she was.

 

The cold probably saved her by constricting her blood vessels and reducing the blood loss enough for Thor to bring her here, but then she lost a considerable amount during the procedure. Just to be safe he decided to inject a targeted growth factor to help stimulate the marrow to replenish the lost blood cells, yet another wonderful invention of Banner's, patent pending. No need for matching blood type donor, since he could not do a blood transfusion on a wolf. Hopefully that would bring her blood pressure up and rouse her to consciousness.

 

"You're lucky that Thor found you," Bruce said as he finished cleaning up.

* * *

 

Natasha didn't have to walk far to find Thor. He paced back and forth the length of the hallway just outside the infirmary arms crossed wearing a weary expression on his face. As soon as he saw her, he practically ambushed her. "Is she alive?"

 

"Bruce is finishing up, but it looks like she's going to make it."

 

The tension instantly left his body and his worried expression relaxed into a relieved smile. Without warning Thor pulled Natasha into a hug before she could stop him.

 

"Thank you."

 

"So...you adopted a wolf, huh?" Natasha asked awkwardly when Thor did not immediately release her. She forgot he was a hugger.

 

Thor pulled away confusion evident on his face. "Adoption? But she is not a child."

 

"I know, I mean like a pet. It's a custom here...on earth. Adopting lost strays and taking them into your home to care for them like they are your family," Natasha explained. Despite all his time spent on earth, Thor still had a few holes here and there in his understanding of their culture. To be fair though they barely understood the world he came from; only Bruce had visited Asgard before it was destroyed.

 

"Ah. She is no pet. She comes and goes as she pleases," Thor said. "The arrangement was not conventional I admit, but I was worried that she would freeze to death outside without the collective warmth of a pack. She is a lone wolf."

 

"Oh.." That was nice of him she thought, but she wondered how tame this wolf was considering he kept her indoors. Then she wondered what they were going to do with her when she finally wakes up. She imagined that having a wild, scared, injured animal running loose in the compound was not a very good idea.

 

The medical bay entrance door opened and a tired looking Bruce straggled out.

 

"Hey," Bruce greeted, "she's unconscious, but stable."

 

Bruce yelped as Thor pulled him into a crushing hug. "Thank you my friend." Bruce came through for him once again. Of all the Avengers, the one he respected the most and called his closest friend was Bruce.

 

"You're welcome," Bruce wheezed ready for the hug to be over.

 

"May I see her?" Thor asked eagerly.

 

"Of course."

 

Thor immediately released him. Bruce stumbled out of the way before Thor could knock him over as he barreled past him leaving just him and Natasha alone in the hallway. Neither planned to go back to sleep after everything that had happened.

 

"Coffee?"

 

"How about.." Natasha paused as she sauntered up to Bruce wrapping her arms around his waist, "a shower first?" Natasha finished with an arched eyebrow and a coy smile.

 

Bruce pretended to weigh his options."Yeah, I like your idea better," he grinned and slipped his arm around her waist. The couple lazily strolled back to their shared bedroom.

 

* * *

 

Bruce returned to the infirmary fully cleaned, satisfied, dressed, and caffeinated. He found Thor seated by his patient's bedside. His head rested on his folded arms on the examination table, eyes fixed on the sleeping wolf completely unaware of Bruce's reappearance.

 

"Ylva," Thor breathed. He gently stroked the tufts of fur behind her ear. "Wake up, Ylva. Please. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," Thor murmured.

 

"I promise to catch you a nice juicy rabbit if you wake up. I'll catch you a hundred rabbits if want. I won't force you out of the bathroom anymore. You can soak in the bath as long as you want. Once I replace the tub that is. It's a long story. I'll tell you about it later. We'll even read more of your favorites stories about those shoeless miniature men..."

 

Bruce watched awkwardly from the sidelines. He was confused as to what sort of relationship Thor had with this animal. Maybe wolves were the equivalent of dogs for Asgardian gods. Right now he felt like a intruder on a very private moment between a god and his wolf. He almost backed out of the room, but then remembered he came to check on his one and only patient.

 

Bruce cleared his throat as he took a seat next to Thor. Now might be a good time to get a medical history since he had to skip that part for the sake of time. "So uhh, Thor where did you find um..?"

 

"Ylva."

 

"Yes, where did you find Ylva?"

 

"I met her the day the fog descended and those hideous spider creatures crawled out."

 

"She came through the fog?" Bruce asked surprised. "You didn't mention you found something other than the flying golden ball and that gemstone."

 

Thor frowned as he thought back to that day. She had run off so quickly after the battle. Once he had determined that she was not a threat, he forgot about her until their chance meeting in the woods. "I am sorry. I did not think it was relevant. It did not occur to me at the time because I knew wolves existed in this realm unlike those spiders. I did not think her appearance was out of the ordinary."

 

"No, I understand. That makes sense."

 

Thor turned his attention back to the slumbering Ylva swallowing thickly, he asked, "when will she wake?"

 

"I don't know, she's suffered from some severe trauma. She needs time to rest and heal, but I think she'll make a full recovery," Bruce assured him.

 

Speaking of blood, he needed to take a small sample to check for an elevated white blood cell count. A good physician covered all his bases and that included checking for possible infections from the gunshot wound.

 

"I'm just going to do a quick exam and take a small blood sample." He slapped on his disposable gloves and took out the phlebotomy kit.

 

Switching on his pocket flashlight, he lifted each eyelid to check her eyes. "Pupils intact and reactive to light, excellent," Bruce muttered to no one in particular.

 

Placing a sterile thermometer underneath her tongue, it beeped and registered 37 degrees celsius. "Huh," Bruce blinked and took a second look at the thermometer he held in his hand, "what's the normal body temp for wolves?"

 

"37 degrees Celsius, sir. Same as humans," the AI chimed.

 

"Everything alright?" Thor asked trying to steal a glance at the thermometer. His hand rested on her protectively.

 

"Yeah, everything looks good so far. I'm just going to take a small sample of blood." He fished through the kit for the alcohol swabs, tourniquet, blood collection vial, and needle. Thor's eyes widened when he took the cap off the syringe readying the needle.

 

At the sight of the tiny, but sharp needle, Thor instinctively covered her with his massive body forming a wall between her and Bruce. "Wait, is that going to hurt her?"

 

 _Not as much as a bullet_. Bruce was amused by Thor's overreaction, but did not show it. He prided himself on his excellent bedside manners. He sensed that Thor was distraught. He found the most challenging part of medicine was not treating the patient but dealing with their loved ones."Nah, she won't feel a thing."  _Because she's unconscious._

 

Thor seemed to believe him. He relaxed and moved out of his way. Bruce stuck her with the needle and withdrew a few cc's of blood and relieved that he was doing this while she was still unconscious. He did not know how they were going to handle her when she finally wakes up.

 

"So uh, Thor. We need to talk about what we're going to do when she wakes up."

 

"What do mean? We celebrate of course!"

 

"Um..Sure..." The idea of throwing a party for a wolf seemed silly to Bruce, but who knew what crazy things they did on Asgard. "What I mean is that I can't have a wild animal running around here. She could hurt someone or get hurt herself."

 

"She is harmless, I assure you." That wasn't quite true. When Thor first saw her she had dried blood staining her teeth and snout. Then she viciously attacked that spider. He had also seen her hunt proving herself to be a ferocious predator. But he didn't think his friend needed to know any of that. "Well, she won't hurt you," Thor hastily added. "Ylva has excellent instincts and can tell the difference between a foe and a friend."

 

"That's uh...not really the point." Bruce wasn't convinced. He fully expected her to wake up angry, scared, and baring her razor sharp teeth ready to attack. He thought perhaps they should set her outside before she wakes or at least put her in a cage. He just needed to convince Thor first. "You did a good thing saving her, but she belongs in the wild not with people," Bruce explained as he inserted the vial of blood into the machine.

 

Thor frowned, but he didn't want to let her go. He just got her back! "Why do you say that? Natasha was just telling me that it's customary here to adopt animals and bring them into your homes. Ylva has been living with me, and we were getting along just fine until..." The words died unable to escape his mouth, and Thor cleared his throat.

 

"Yeah, Nat was actually talking about cats and dogs. Domesticated animals. Wolves are considered to be wild animals too dangerous to be kept."

 

"Ah, I see. That's unfortunate then. Wolves make excellent companions. They are fiercely loyal creatures," he beamed at the sleeping Ylva, "my father had two of his own. They devoured anyone that told him a lie instantly. Only Loki was able to deceive and trick them."

 

"This one is special too," Thor continued,"she's no ordinary beast. She is incredibly perceptive and exceptionally intelligent," Thor boasted.

 

"Hmm…" Bruce nodded awkwardly not understanding Thor's fascination with the wolf. "Yes, wolves are known to be very intelligent animals."

 

The machine beeped and the stats populated on the screen. Bruce rolled his chair over to the monitor to read the results and was surprised by what he found.

 

"Wait a second..." Thinking he misread the results, he adjusted his glasses and took a closer look at the monitor. "That can't be right…"

 

"What is it, Banner?" Thor asked slightly alarmed by Bruce's puzzled reaction.

 

"I fed a sample of her blood into this pathology machine to check her white blood cell count plus a few other lab metrics. The machine is programmed to reference the readings based on the allowable ranges for the species it identifies in the blood sample. You know to determine if a lab value falls out of range for that given species indicating an onset of an illness..."

 

"Has she fallen ill?" Thor asked concern evident in his eyes. His gaze immediately returned to the sleeping Ylva.

 

"No, everything falls within the normal range."

 

"Then what's wrong?"

 

"It's her DNA. According to this, she's not even a wolf. She's human."

* * *

 

"Do you even know how to play this game?"

 

Hermione scowled and tossed her hand of cards onto the table before folding her arms over her chest.

 

Harry smirked and collected her cards. Hermione did not know how to lose with grace.

 

"Harry?"

 

"Hmmm?" Harry busied himself with shuffling the deck of cards.

 

"What exactly are we waiting for?"

 

Harry didn't answer immediately. He averted his gaze and continued shuffling the deck deep in thought on how best to proceed.

 

"You know something," Hermione accused. She straightened her spine. "What are you not telling me?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at Harry.

 

"This might surprise you but I know a lot of things. Some things that even you don't know Miss Know-It-All," Harry smiled cheekily.

 

"Somehow I doubt that."

 

"Ouch. Don't forget who had the highest grade in Slughorn's class."

 

"Ugh, we're not bringing up sixth year again! You were clearly cheating!" She tried to maintain her irritated expression but it quickly broke into a was a sore spot between them at one point, but there was nothing like fighting a whole war side by side to put everything in perspective.

 

"Deathly hallows. You were convinced that they weren't real," Harry pointed out setting aside the deck of cards. He stretched his arms overhead feeling pretty smug. Looking pleased with himself. He was rarely right and Hermione was rarely wrong. He wanted to bask in this glorious moment.

 

Hermione rolled her eyes."That is still highly debatable. They're just powerful objects! Nothing like the mythical artifacts described in  _The Tales of Beedle the Bard._  Your stone only summons ghosts. I can do that just by entering the second floor girls' bathroom." Mean, but true, Moaning Myrtle was always eager for company. "It does not actually bring anyone back to life."

 

"That doesn't mean they're not real. Sure, maybe their powers were a bit exaggerated. It happens when stories are passed down. Is everything you've read about Thor true?"

 

"Wait, how do you know about Thor?" Hermione rubbed her neck absentmindedly. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink at the mention of Thor's name. Gathering the excess material of her jumper sleeves', she quickly covered her cheeks with her hands.

 

"I told you. I can see what goes on in the world of the living. Obviously, I don't constantly watch you because that would be creepy. But I can't help but tune in sometimes to see how you're doing. It's like watching one of those reality shows on the telly, only much sadder and less entertaining cause it's real you know, not contrived." Harry sucked in a deep breath bracing himself before continuing. "I watched my friends go on trial only to be condemned to death. I watched you imprisoned at Hogwarts. Your spirit breaking every day. I was so proud of you when you first transformed. And when Bellatrix hit you with that curse, I almost lost it. I thought you weren't going to make it."

 

Hermione flinched at the sound of Bellatrix's name. No other name elicited such a reaction from her not even Voldemort. Of course it was her. She had never met anyone so sadistic and so cruel. That woman had it out for her.

 

"Then you escaped the forbidden forest and found Thor. I was relieved because I didn't want you to be alone in the world, and he seems like a decent bloke. He's rather fit, isn't he? How many sit-ups do you suppose he does ever-"

 

"You still haven't answered my question," Hermione subtly redirected the conversation. She wasn't ready to talk about Thor yet much less his well defined abdominal muscles. Her feelings concerning the recent events that transpired between them were still conflicting and fresh.

 

Harry seemed to pick up on her discomfort and didn't push any further. Though she did not miss the subtle knowing smile that flashed across his face.

 

"You just can't stand the fact that I know something you don't," he gloated. His eyes had that damnable twinkle.

 

"Seriously, Harry. What are we waiting for? For me to die?"

 

"Uh...not exactly," Harry responded. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably avoiding eye contact again.

 

Hermione wanted to reach over and smack him on the side of the head to knock the answers out of him. So she did.

 

"Ow! Hey!" Harry rubbed his head, "was that really necessary?!"

 

"What is going on?"

 

Harry sighed,"you're not going to die Hermione. Thor has rescued you. I'm just holding you here until he revives you. You will not be crossing over."

 

Hermione's mouth parted in shock.  _Thor saved her?_  She felt confused and conflicted about Harry's revelation. She was going to live after all, "but why? I don't understand."

 

"Because the powers that be say so," Harry shrugged.

 

"But just a moment ago you had told me that there was no ultimate authority that decides on everything."

 

"Well, no. But that's because it's much more complicated than that." Harry held up his hands when he saw Hermione open her mouth ready with a barrage of questions. "Don't ask me to explain, it's not something you would understand until you actually die."

 

Hermione sulked,"okay, but can you at least explain why I'm allowed to live? Or tell me about the curse Bellatrix used on me?"

 

Harry feigned a thoughtful look,"hmmm….no," he grinned cheekily. "I can't tell you why. It's against the rules."

 

"Seriously?" she crossed her arms and raised a single eyebrow.

 

"Well of course there are rules in the afterlife! I thought if anyone would appreciate that it would be you. Otherwise it would just be a free for all. Do you know how fucking scary that would be? Remember we  _all_ go to the same place."

 

Hermione shook her head laughing, "no, I mean you following the rules."

 

"What can I say, I'm a changed man. Dying does that to a person, you know?" Harry winked.

 

"You have really grown up, but that happened before you died too."

 

Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "I have a lot of time now that I'm dead and not chasing and being chased by an evil wizard. I do whatever I want whenever I want. I even read for leisure now too. Fancy that huh?" He stretched his arms over himself leisurely. Harry had never looked so relaxed.

 

"There are books in the afterlife?" Hermione asked in disbelief. Her eyes immediately lit up at the mention of books.

 

"Kind of. The disbursement and assimilation of knowledge is different when you are not corporeal obviously." He leaned forward in his seat, his voice low like he was revealing a secret, "but if you want it, you can have all the knowledge in the universe even. You just can't take it to the living where it can do harm."

 

Hermione was sold. "Can't I just go with you?"

 

"No," Harry shook his head, "you can't."

 

"Why not?"

 

"Because," Harry sighed, "your life isn't finished yet."

 

"And yours was?" Hermione snorted incredulously.

 

Placing a hand on his chest for emphasis,"I have fulfilled my purpose in life," Harry said matter of factly. It was quite disturbing how much of Hermione's mannerisms had rubbed off on him over the years."I was the boy who lived that needed to die."

 

"Hermione, don't you want to live? There's so much more left for you to do. Besides, you don't even know what is on the other side."

 

"You're there and that's all that matters to me. I'd go anywhere that you are," Hermione said without hesitation. "Besides, is it not like this?" she vaguely gestured at the limbo they were in.

 

"No, not quite. I mean I don't even know how to describe it. It's like describing what the sun, the moon, and the stars look like to a blind person. How do you describe a place so fantastic and out of this world…."

 

Hermione giggled,"when did you become so poetic? I stand by what I said. I can't imagine living in a world without you, Harry. You're right, I would have petrified you and locked you in a broom closet. I don't care that it's selfish, but I'd let Voldemort live. I don't care about the greater good. Your life isn't any less valuable than any of ours."

 

Harry moved by her declaration rose from his seat and walked over to her side of the table. He bent down to wrap his arms around her shoulders hugging her from behind. Hermione tucked herself into his embrace.

 

"I want to stay here with you."

 

"Me too." He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm not worried about you though. You're strong Hermione, I know you'll survive. I'll give you a hint about the curse. Not that you won't figure it out on your own eventually, brilliant as you are. Find the resurrection stone, it followed you to the place you're at now."

 

"What am I supposed to use it for? If I can't bring back a dead wizard or witch to change me back. Ghosts can't do magic."

 

"You'll see. It still has its uses even if it doesn't quite live up to its name. It is after all one of the three highly sought after Deathly Hallows."

 

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

 

"Nope. It's not often that I'm right and Hermione Granger is wrong. I'm going to hold it over your head for the rest of eternity," he grinned.

 

She laughed and he hugged her tighter. He wasn't ready to let her go yet, but he had no choice. She may not care about the greater good, but he did. Of all the people that he had left behind on earth, he missed her the most.

 

"What happens when I wake up? Will I remember any of this?"

 

"You'll remember some things. It'll be like waking up from a dream."

 

"A really nice dream..."

 

"Yeah.." Harry agreed sighing contently, "like a really nice dream."

 

They didn't speak anymore after that choosing to just hold each other in silence cherishing their final moment together.


	8. Chapter 8

The morning light seeped through the large paned glass waking up the mostly empty space of the infirmary. When Tony designed the new compound he purposely built the medical wing facing the south side and installed plenty of large windows to allow the natural light in. Each member of the Avengers at some point or another had spent a significant amount of time recovering here. So he didn't want the new infirmary to feel like a basement ER of some podunk county hospital.

 

Like the rest of the compound these days, the infirmary saw less traffic and fewer visitors now that the Avengers were less active. Bruce hoped to bring the place back to life by finding Tony. Hunched over his laptop, he continued writing a sequence of code that would hopefully bring Tony back. The keys clicked away in tandem with the beeping monitor attached to his sole patient in an otherwise silent room.

 

The program he designed should sync up all the satellites in orbit to collectively scan for Tony's arc reactor signature. The universe was infinitely large and vast, so he needed all eyes searching for Tony. While the arc reactor produced a unique energy pattern, the problem was that it was not nearly as bright or massive as a star, so its light was easily lost among the the billions of stars in the universe. This was an impossible task. Bruce was metaphorically speaking looking for a needle in a haystack, and he was trying to build a powerful enough magnet.

 

Bruce had finally convinced Thor to leave Ylva's side to clean up and eat something assuring him that he would send for him as soon as she wakes up. He understood that Asgardians did not need regular food intake and sleep like mortal humans, but he had his reasons for sending Thor away.

 

Thor shamefully confessed everything after they triple checked the DNA results. Bruce scrubbed the machine free of contaminants and reran the samples three times confirming irrefutably that her DNA was human and female.

 

Thor told him of his suspicions when he first met Ylva. He described her unusual behaviors: her friendly temperament, her ability to read, to understand everything spoken to her, and her uncanny ability to perform magic. He thought she was Loki in disguise. While Bruce did not condone his reaction, he agreed that was a conclusion he would have automatically jumped to as well.

 

Thor admitted that a small part of him was disappointed that Ylva wasn't Loki, but he was more embarrassed and ashamed by his brutish behavior towards her. He had never in his 1500 years manhandled a woman before. Eager to start atoning for his mistake, he stayed by her side waiting for her to wake and ready to do anything and everything to earn her forgiveness. He had started by cleaning her up knowing how fastidious she was about her cleanliness. He had carefully scrubbed away the dried blood that clung to her fur when Bruce finally forced him to leave.

 

Bruce decided that it was in both of their best interest that Thor was not in the room when she woke up. She needed to feel safe enough to trust them, so they can figure out how to help her. Bruce had concluded that she was a shapeshifter like Loki, but was stuck in her animal form. If she could have changed back, surely she would have done so out of self preservation. In less than twenty-four hours the poor thing found herself in two dangerous encounters due to a misunderstanding. She was lucky to have survived.

 

Bruce stayed with her in the empty infirmary to monitor her recovery progress. Watching her sleep was boring, so he decided to take advantage of the solitude and quiet to get some much needed work done.

 

Bruce was deep in concentration debugging the new program he had written on his laptop when the phone icon popped up on his screen. He almost hit ignore until he realized who it was. He clicked to answer it and smiled when a familiar face popped up on the screen.

 

"Jane, what a surprise!"

 

"Hey! Good morning! I'm not interrupting anything am I?"

 

"No, not at all. I was just doing some troubleshooting on this new program I'm working on. How are you?"

 

"I'm tired, but other than that I'm good." Jane looked radiant as always, but there were hints of dark circles forming underneath her eyes. Despite her cheerful demeanor her body language conveyed a level of exhaustion common to overworked scientists everywhere.

 

Bruce sympathized with her. He fought back a yawn with another sip of coffee. His third cup this morning. It was not even 10 o'clock yet, and it already felt like the end of a really long day. "I appreciate you helping me, but I don't want to cause you any more unnecessary stress. Especially given yo-"

 

Jane laughed, "you sound just like Erik. I don't know how I'm allowed to get anything done with everyone always treating me like breakable glass. I promise, I'm fine," putting extra emphasis on the word fine. She knew Bruce meant well. That he was actually concerned about her well-being. Unlike some of her other male colleagues, as a female scientist she had to combat a lot of sexism both intentional and unintentional.

 

"Besides, this is important. Possible the most important project of my life."

 

"Besides the one that's about to hatch in what two months time?" Bruce teased lightly.

 

"Five and a half weeks," Jane corrected rolling her eyes, "and it can't come soon enough. Anyways, we're trying to save someone's life here! If there's any chance that Tony may still be alive, we need to do everything we can to find him and fast. He's our Matt Damon, and we need to bring him home."

 

Bruce chuckled softly behind his mug of coffee, "so I guess that makes us NASA then."

 

"Of course," Jane said, "between your seven PhDs and my Nobel, there's enough brain power here to run mission control in Houston. I'm sure Tony is doing everything he can to survive out there. We can't let him down."

 

Bruce couldn't help but smile. Her optimism was infectious. Bruce had not seen Jane in person for a long time. She left her post at Culver University shortly after him when she met Thor and became involved with SHIELD. Then he disappeared from the planet for two years while Jane traveled around the world teaching and consulting at the most prestigious institutions. Right now she was in Texas at the McDonald Observatory.

 

When Bruce began his near impossible search he knew he required the help of a world class astrophysicist, and he knew exactly who to call.

 

"Anyways, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm calling you. I have some good news."

 

"Really? What is it?"

 

"It concerns our Matt Damon actually," she beamed unable to contain her excitement. "I've been playing with a few of our remote satellites, and they've picked up some readings that match Tony's arc reactor signatures. I think I may have found him."

 

"Oh. Wow! That's.." Bruce was speechless,"that's great!" This was the first bit of good news Bruce had heard in a very long time. He would hug her if he could. Finally one of them had a breakthrough.

 

"How far away?"

 

"A few jumps from our solar system. There were recorded readings from multiple locations. You know what that means?"

 

"He's alive," Bruce couldn't believe it.

 

"Yeah, and he's on the move. I haven't locked down the exact coordinates yet, but I can get them to you in less than 24 hours."

 

"That's great! Thank you so much Jane."

 

A sudden loud crash caused Bruce to nearly fall out of his chair. He whipped his head around and spotted the fallen equipment beeping loudly, the detached wires, and an empty bed. He scanned the room for his missing patient and panicked when he saw the open door, which he swore he locked to deter Thor. Not that a locked door could stop him.

 

"Uhhh Jane, I'm going to have to call you back."

 

"Um….Okay, is ever-"

 

Bruce quickly shut his laptop and ran through the open door. Thor was going to kill him if he found out he lost her.

* * *

 

Hermione did not know where she was. She stared down at the endless hallway identical to the previous ones. She woke up to the sound of people conversing. When her eyes came to focus, she immediately realized that she was no longer alone or in the forest. The room had been white, clean, and it had smelled strongly of industrial cleaning solvent. The same kind her parents used at their dental office. Probably a hospital of some sort she had surmised. Wherever she was didn't matter. Being a soldier and prisoner of war had conditioned her to always look for all available exits no matter where she was. She had spotted a door. Not willing to wait and see if her captor had good intentions or not, she went for it.

 

Her muscles in her left foreleg protested every step she took. To her surprise the sharp pain in her left side was gone. All that remained was a tender soreness. She didn't know what happened, but she managed to make it out of the woods alive.

 

Concentrating she tried to conjure up a point me spell. She didn't know where she was going to go from here. But she'll start with finding the exit. She had never done a point me spell without her wand and wasn't sure if it would work without it. To her amazement it worked. A tiny floating arrow appeared, and she followed it.

 

Strangely there was no one around for a building this size. It looked less and less like a hospital the further she walked and more like the headquarters of a large international business conglomerate with its shiny floors and floor to ceiling windows. She expected to see someone, anyone, business men in fancy suits, CEOs walking and talking on their brick mobiles. She spoke too soon.

 

Bruce intercepted her just as she was about to reach the elevators. "Oh thank god! I found you," he said relieved that she hadn't gone far.

 

Surprised by his sudden appearance, she lost her concentration and the arrow dissipated in a puff. She had only a split second to decide whether or not to attack.

 

"Thor would have killed me if I had lost you."

 

At the mention of Thor's name she chose not to attack. Hermione studied the man with a healthy sense of apprehension. He ran his hands through his hair nervously. On the surface this man with his messy hair and wrinkled clothes seemed harmless and friendly even. Call it a sixth sense developed from her animagus, but she sensed something dangerous lurking underneath his seemingly harmless exterior that made her hesitate to trust him.

 

"Uh..hi. You're awake and moving. That's good." Bruce cleared his throat. "Um...I know you can understand me. I'm Bruce. Dr. Bruce Banner. I'm a friend of Thor's."

 

Thor brought her here she realized. She wanted an explanation, so she put her grand plans of escaping on hold. For now.

 

"Ylva, may I call you Ylva? I understand that might not be your real name," Bruce said awkwardly. This was a very one-sided conversation, but if anyone understood what it was like to be trapped in the body of a savage beast, it was him.

 

"You were hurt," Bruce explained. "Thor brought you here just in time for us to save you. You're in America now specifically New York. This is the Avengers Compound."

 

Hermione didn't know what the Avengers were, but she was surprised that she was so far from home. How did Thor manage to get her across the pond?

 

"He told me everything that happened. I'm not going to try to justify his actions or apologize for him. I understand if you are not ready to see him, but you will have to eventually."

 

Hermione's guarded demeanor relaxed a bit surprised by how considerate he was being towards her. Especially since he knew nothing about her except for what Thor may have told him. Which could not have been much as Thor didn't know anything about her either.

 

"But let's not worry about that for now because I need to do a quick post op check up. Will you come back to the clinic with me? Please?" he asked as he took a few steps back towards the medical wing. "As your doctor, I have to say you left against medical advice," Bruce added half jokingly when she didn't move. He couldn't seem to break the ice with her.

 

They stared at each other for a moment. As the seconds ticked by, Bruce started to doubt her ability to understand him. Had he been presumptuous to assume she understood English? It just dawned on him that Thor found her in Norway, and he had the gift of Allspeak. Of course she understood Thor. Bruce gave her a comforting smile hoping that translated well enough to convince her to go with him.

 

Clearly he wasn't afraid of her and seemed to care about her well-being as a doctor would for his patients. Hermione reluctantly followed still wary of the man. It was just a short and silent walk back to the infirmary thankfully for Hermione. She was already feeling tired and achy all over. Performing wandless magic after recovering from a gunshot wound was probably not wise.

 

Bruce righted the beeping machine and turned it off. He sighed, "you and Thor are destroying all the medical equipment. You're lucky Tony's not here." There was no malice in his voice. He smiled at her as he grabbed a step stool for her to use to get herself onto the examination table.

 

Hermione didn't know who Tony was, probably another friend of Thor's that she might meet while she was here. She stepped gingerly onto the table and scrutinized the man in front of her. This was her doctor. The person that saved her. Well apart from Thor, again.

 

Bruce carefully approached her reading her body language for any possible hostile reaction. When she didn't react, he interpreted it as her implicitly granting him permission to touch her. He first listened to her chest with his stethoscope. "Deep breath in. Good. And out."

 

Then he checked her wound and hummed in approval when he saw the fully healed pink flesh. "The wound has healed nicely. Good to know that my latest invention worked."

 

Hermione eyes narrowed. She desperately wanted to ask what he did because she was sure that unless he used magic, bullet wounds don't heal within twenty four hours. Perhaps he wasn't an ordinary muggle.

 

"I'm going to take your temperature now. Can you open your mouth for me?"

 

Hermione opened her mouth revealing two rows of pearly, sharp teeth. Bruce carefully tucked the thermometer underneath her tongue. "Okay, close gently."

 

She complied without fuss.

 

"Good." Bruce wished all his patients were this easy, but above all he was amazed. Thor was right. He was skeptical at first, but she really could understand him.

 

The thermometer beeped. "37 degrees Celsius, perfect. For wolf and human." He smiled at her knowingly as he set aside the thermometer.

 

Hermione's eyes widened. Was it possible that this man knew she was human? He did say he knew that she could understand him.

 

"Alright. Let's take a look at your neck. You've experienced some trauma there when Thor grabbed you," Bruce noted clinically.

 

She flinched at the memory. He certainly didn't sugarcoat it. Thor had attacked her.

 

Bruce didn't miss the subtle change in her demeanor. He needed to tread more carefully. "If you don't mind, I'm going to touch you there now."

 

When she didn't back away he placed his hands on the sides of her face sliding down to her neck. He gently felt her neck. She winced, it felt very tender.

 

"Still hurts?" he nodded emphatically. "You're going to have some bruising. I want you to wear a neck brace for now. Hopefully it fits." He retrieved a neck brace from the supply cabinet behind him and secured it around her neck. "Ah. Perfect. I know, it's not the most flattering," Bruce joked lightly, "but it's meant to restrict your movements so you'll heal quicker."

 

Bruce was almost finished with the check up when Thor barged in unannounced. Bruce sighed silently kicking himself for not locking the door. Though a locked door would scarcely keep out the Asgardian god anyways.

 

"Thor," Bruce started.

 

Thor ignored him. His eyes lit up at the sight of her awake and alive, and he made a beeline right to her bedside.

 

Hermione was definitely not ready to see him not knowing what to expect she braced herself. Fur bristling, she instinctively scrunched herself up like a spring ready to pounce if provoked. She was vaguely aware of how the stupid neck brace must have undermined the menacing front she tried to put on.

 

Hair damp, he looked like he just got out of the shower. He was so close she could smell the soap and feel the moist heat leftover from his shower.

 

"Ylva, please forgive me. It was never my intention to hurt you." There was a tenderness in his eyes and a tinge of desperation in his voice that nearly melted her, but she staunchly maintained her resolve. She had forgotten who he was and let down her guard.

 

She forced herself to remember the day she first saw him. How terrifying he looked in his armor as he effortlessly killed an entire horde of acromantulas. He was no ordinary man, but a god to be feared. Then the unbidden memories of him bathing her and reading with her resurfaced as well. Her mind struggled to reconcile the two versions of Thor along with the one standing before her kind stranger that fed her. The friend that invited her to stay in his home. That she burned down. She cringed at that memory.

 

Thor reached out to touch her, but hesitated when he saw her recoil. She hadn't meant to. He looked hurt by her instinctual response. His hand wavered a moment midair before dropping to his side.

 

He didn't know where to begin to earn her forgiveness. He sighed, "Loki and I have a very long and complicated history."

 

Hermione almost snorted. That was an understatement.

 

"I was so convinced that you were him. Had I known...I would not have touched you like that. I would never had hurt you." Thor had never been very eloquent with his feelings."I didn't think. I simply acted. I am truly sorry." He nervously scratched the back of his neck.

 

His apology came out rather clumsily, which she found kind of endearing. She softened a bit despite her previous stance.

 

"But I know now. And I promise I will do whatever it takes to change you back," Thor vowed. Thor's face had a look of singular determination about him as if nothing could stop him from fulfilling that promise.

 

Hermione wouldn't know what to say even if she could talk.

 

"And I will help," Bruce piped up from behind Thor's massive body. He had been briefly forgotten by the two other occupants in the room. "But first we need to make sure she gets a clean bill of health first. She did go through some significant trauma."

 

 _You have no idea._ She hadn't even turned twenty yet, and the things she had done, seen, experienced during and after the war warranted at least a decade worth of intense therapy.

 

Bruce cleared his throat. "Uh Thor, may I speak with you for a moment?" He pulled Thor aside but still within Ylva's earshot. He didn't want her to think they were hiding anything from her. Secrets early on were not the right way to go about to earn her trust, which was already tenuous.

 

"What is it? Is something wrong with Ylva?" Thor glanced over to her worriedly. Hermione's ears perked up at the mention of her name. Mortals no matter what form were susceptible to diseases whether from their environment or created within their bodies.

 

"No, she's fine. It's something else." Bruce felt bad that he was about to send Thor on what was possibly a wild goose chase, but judging by Ylva's tepid reaction to him, he thought it would be best if Thor gave her some space. Plus, he wanted to find Tony.

 

Thor folded his arms and looked at him expectantly, "then what is it?"

 

"I think I may have found Tony," Bruce said hesitantly as if he couldn't believe it himself. He had been searching for so long.

 

"That is the most wonderful news!" Thor exclaimed as he patted Bruce on the arm with a little too much force judging from the pained expression on Bruce's face. "Well, where is he?"

 

"Um, well. My colleague at the McDonald Observatory picked up some heat signatures from his arc reactor. She's working on pinpointing his exact location. I need you to go find him."

 

"Absolutely, with Stormbreaker I have access to the bifrost. I can go just about anywhere in the universe. Just tell me where." Thor was excited at the prospect of an intergalactic space adventure, but he also didn't want to leave Ylva. The last thing he wanted her to think was that he had abandoned her. He glanced back at her forlornly.

 

Sensing his hesitation, "we'll look after her while you're gone," Bruce assured him. "She still needs lots of uninterrupted rest and quiet if she is to recover fully." That may have been a white lie. She certainly recovered well enough to escape earlier.

 

"Alright, I shall go. It should not take me long," Thor said decisively after contemplating silently for a few minutes. "Where am I going?"

 

"Well my colleague is working out the exact coordinates as we speak."  _Lying by omission now, good one Banner!_ Bruce's snarky conscience snarked. Bruce ignored the pesky voice in his head, "she works at the McDonald Observatory in Texas, " he said as he casually steered Thor toward the door.

 

"Oh, I know of that place. I accompanied Jane there once. She was invited as a guest lecturer."

 

"What are the chances," Bruce muttered at the irony.

 

"What?"

 

"Nothing. So you know where it is?"

 

"Yes. That's what I just said."

 

"Great! When can you leave?"

 

Thor shrugged, "now? I suppose. But I'd like to see to Yl-"

 

"Great, we'll see you when you get back. Tell them that I sent you," he said quickly as he ushered Thor out.

 

Thor said a quick goodbye to Ylva, before Bruce shut the door. He took out his phone and quickly texted Jane to give her a heads up.

 

Bruce turned to Hermione and took a deep breath. "Alright, where were we?"

 

Hermione stared at him silently.

 

"Right. We should find a way to communicate." Bruce reached for a prescription pad and wrote 'yes' on one sheet, 'no' on another, and 'I don't know' on the last sheet. Tearing them off the pad he placed them in front of her.

 

"Not ideal, but we'll figure out something better later." Bruce knew this method will rely heavily on him asking the right questions.

 

"Are you in any pain?"

 

She nosed the slip of paper with the word 'no.'

 

"Good. If anything changes and you start to feel any pain or unwell let me know by tugging on my shirt. That'll be our code, okay?"

 

She nudged 'yes' to show that she understood.

 

"I think that wraps up your checkup. Moving on, Thor tells me you can perform magic. Is that true?"

 

She enthusiastically tapped 'yes.' If he already knew about magic then she did not breach the Statute of Secrecy. At least that was what she hoped.

 

"Are you a sorcerer? Er, sorry, sorceress?"

 

Hermione thought about that for a moment. She supposed it was all semantics really, mage, sorcerer, witch, enchantress. But it mattered to her so she tapped the space between 'yes' and 'no' with her paw.

 

Bruce understood what she was trying to tell him, "that's not a yes or a no, so not a sorceress, but something else that does magic. A witch?"

 

She happily tapped 'yes.'

 

Bruce did not have the faintest idea as to what the difference between the two were. Perhaps they studied different disciplines of magic much like how a physicist and a chemist study different fields within science. Or maybe it came down to differences in genetics and natural abilities. Perhaps her magic differed from that of Strange's and Wong's.

 

"Alright, now we're getting somewhere," Bruce smiled. He took out a pen and some paper to take notes.

* * *

 

This interaction went on in the same manner for some time. Bruce deduced that her enemy had attacked her with an unknown spell, which has trapped her in the form that she was in now. She did not know how to change herself back. Her magic use was limited. That precious amount of information was gained painstakingly by playing the longest game of twenty questions ever. Both of them were tired from the exchange but too polite to admit it.

 

Hermione wished she could tell him more, and she could tell the feeling was mutual. But since Bruce was muggle and knew nothing of her world, he wouldn't even begin to know what to ask.

 

Bruce was in awe. This was truly remarkable. She really was human. He wanted to know her name, how old she was, where she was from, how her magic worked, and ask a bunch of other questions, but that will have to wait until he devised a better way for them to communicate. He confirmed that she was literate, so he decided he would create a keyboard for her. The keys needed to be enlarged enough so that she could touch the letters with her paw or nose. He planned to get to work on it straightaway.

 

Most importantly he also planned to get in touch with Wong at the New York Sanctum to see if he could break the spell, but he could wait until Thor returned first, hopefully with Tony. She needed to make a full recovery before he could allow her to leave the compound anyways.

 

Bruce placed a full water dish on the tray. He moved to the refrigerator hoping to scrounge up something for Ylva to eat. The fridge was filled to the brim with half empty take out containers with questionable expiration dates. Someone should clean this out he thought.

 

"So, how's our newest Avenger doing?"

 

"She's napping at the moment. I think I wore her down with all my questions," Bruce answered head still in the fridge not even startled by Natasha's sudden appearance. The woman moved everywhere with inhuman stealth. "And she's not a recruit. Do we have anything still edible in here?" He unfolded the lid of an old chinese to go container and gave it a sniff.

 

Natasha took the box from his hand and dropped it into the trash. "Let's not feed her our old leftovers. We don't want to accidentally poison her after all the hard work we put into saving her. Plus Thor would murder us."

 

"Yeah, you're right. I think I discovered a new species of microorganism in this one." He tossed another container into the trash.

 

"I'll order something," Natasha volunteered. She forcefully opened the stuck drawer crammed full of take out menus. Flipping through the pile she asked, "did you happen to ask her what she liked to eat during your interrogation?"

 

"Nah, we didn't get that far."

 

"Pizza?"

 

"Yeah, that's a safe bet." Bruce gave up and closed the fridge. "Ask Cap what he wants on his."

 

"Right away, sir," there was a pause before the AI answered, "mushrooms and ham."

 

"Thanks, put in our usual order to Coltivare Pizzeria," said Natasha.

 

"Consider it done. Delivery expected in 30 - 45 minutes," the AI reported.

 

"She's a shapeshifting witch. Our numbers are down. We could use some new blood. There's even a vacant position for 'witch' waiting to be filled," Natasha said casually.

 

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Bruce crossed his arms over his chest. "Someone may be looking for her, she may have family searching, worrying. Thor found her in Norway and now she's in the states. She's probably a long way from home."

 

"I doubt that," Natasha said, "the part about the family," she clarified.

 

Bruce leaned against the counter looking at Natasha expectantly.

 

"She's like us. Abnormal in a very ordinary, vulnerable world," she explained. "I don't like to use this word, but she's a freak basically. Freaks don't have friends or family looking after them. They may have people hunting them," she closed the overstuffed drawer and planted herself next to Bruce her shoulder bumping gently with his. "In fact, I'd be surprised if she didn't have anyone after her."

 

Her words struck something deep in Bruce. Those years running away from Ross were the most isolating years of his life.

 

"Why do you think the Avengers worked? We're safer together, no one is going to protect you better than your own. It seems that we've forgotten how to do that these last two years," she said almost wistfully. She tilted her head leaning it against Bruce's shoulder. Natasha softened against his shoulder. Bruce was surprised by her sudden sentimentality. She was always so guarded.

 

Bruce had to admit that she was right. Aside from Clint, who was able to cobble together a relatively normal life, which was a feat in of itself as none of them were able to achieve such a thing. None of them really had a chance to. Natasha had been groomed to be a killer since she was a child. Steve, a super soldier, woke up in another century. Thor exiled to earth at one point eventually returned to make it his home when he lost his. Months after he returned to earth, Bruce finally allowed himself to accept the love and intimacy he denied himself out of fear. Bruce lost all his friends and acquaintances after his transformation. He didn't find any sort of acceptance until he joined the Avengers. Natasha had a point. He was not normal, none of them were. They were a collection of overgrown orphans with nowhere else to go.

 

Natasha shrugged,"the Avengers, Clint, Steve, you," she reached for his hand clasping it tightly, "are the closest thing I have to a family, which is why you need to find Tony, so we can get the reckoning over with and be a damn family again," she said pragmatically.

 

Bruce nodded, "I agree. I already sent Thor after him," he sighed, "and now we just wait," he said squeezing her hand.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hello, I know all of you are anxiously waiting for the chapter where Hermione turns back into a human. I just want to reassure everyone that I have already written that chapter and we're not far off. Thank you all for being so patient! Happy Holidays!


	9. Chapter 9

"Hi stranger. I was wondering when I would see you again," Jane tilted her head to the side as she took him in. Judging by his surprised expression, Bruce told him nothing before he sent him to her. Poor guy, she at least got a text message.

 

"Banner," Thor cursed under his breath. A little bit of a warning would have been nice. He must have looked absolutely shell shocked in front of his beautiful ex-paramour.

 

It wasn't that Thor wasn't happy to see Jane. Things were unfinished between them he felt. He had been meaning to contact her to make amends when he came back to earth, but like so many times before some unbelievable, cosmic circumstance prevented him from doing so.

 

They had not seen one another since they parted over a year ago. The breakup while amicable was also awkward. There was no fighting or shouting. Neither one blamed one another. They had drifted so far apart that their relationship died quietly in the background overshadowed by everything else going on in their lives. Its end barely acknowledged as both moved on without any kind of confrontation or resolution.

 

There was nothing to say, no belongings to return because they lived in separate spaces. The experience had been novel for both of them. Thor had never been with a human, and Jane had never been with a god, alien, or whatever Thor was. They were quick to fall in love, but the difficult realities of their relationship were rarely addressed including her mortality and his eventual ascension to the throne of Asgard.

 

"Jane," Thor breathed as she embraced him. "You're-"

 

"Very pregnant," she finished for him. She could barely wrap her arms around his torso with her sizable baby bump occupying so much space between them. "And you have a new haircut." She gently ran her fingers along the side of his head tracing the designs. His hair was short and spiky now. It felt strange to her. She was used to sliding her fingers through his long, silky mane. She sighed, it was simply not fair how beautiful this man was. "I like it," she said after taking a good look at his face.

 

"Thank you," Thor said unsure of what else to say.

 

"Come inside, I'm searching the cosmos for Matt Damon right now," Jane looped her arm around his.

 

"Who?"

 

"Nothing," Jane shook her head smiling to herself. "Just a joke between old friends," she muttered.

 

Jane navigated them through the large campus to her laboratory. Thor's eyes explored the impressive space with its rows of lab benches, beeping monitors, and machines humming away.

 

"Is this all yours?" Thor asked in awe. Jane had come so far. "It's much nicer than that small tin contraption you were working out of when we first met."

 

Jane laughed, "Yes, I agree. I even have more than one intern working for me now. And they even have real science degrees."

 

"Where is everyone?" They were the only ones in the laboratory.

 

"Winter holiday, most of my grad students went home. Finding Stark is something I've been working on in my own time." She settled into a chair in front of a monitor. Thor took the seat next to her.

 

He watched as she worked. His gaze drifted to the ring on her left hand as she typed on her keyboard. The gem gleamed brightly even in the low lighting of the lab. Stark had once asked if he ever planned to 'put a ring on her finger.' At Thor's perplexed expression, he explained that was how earthlings declared their love for one another and demonstrated their betrothal.

 

Jane noticed Thor staring at her hand. She twisted the ring around her finger, "go ahead. I know you want to ask."

 

Thor of course wanted to know who this new man was. How did they meet and how soon after their breakup did she pursue this new relationship, but instead he simply asked,"are you happy?"

 

Jane smiled and nodded, "yes. Yes, I am. I'm very happy." Her free hand automatically went to her stomach.

 

"That's good," Thor said,"I'm glad. Listen Jane, I'm sorr-"

 

"No, let's not do this," Jane said shaking her head. "You're always so quick to take the blame." She leaned closer to him squeezing his hand, "but not everything that goes wrong is your fault."

 

Thor laughed; it sounded hollow and deprecating. "I'm afraid I have to disagree."

 

"Bruce told me what happened." Jane had always been understanding of Thor's duty to his people. She never stood in his way and because of that she had been equally culpable in the demise of their relationship. She never fought for them accepting that he would never fight for her like he fought for his people. "You've always had a bit of a hero complex."

 

"You could say that I was born with it," Thor said bitterly, "you know I've never met my true mother? I was birthed by the earth goddess Gaea and raised by Frigga. My father wanted a son strong and powerful enough to protect Asgard. I'm half Elder God."

 

"I did not know that," Jane said concern showing on her face.

 

"It seems though that I've been cursed. In my youth, I enjoyed crushing my enemies mercilessly. Exercising my power and courting war. Now, I've come to find that my power had always been a burden. I'm one of the strongest beings in the universe and yet I can't even protect the ones I love." He laughed bitterly, "I must have held the shortest tenure as King of Asgard in the history of my people."

 

Jane stood up and closed the gap between them. "Thor, don't do that."

 

"Am I not even allowed even a moment of weakness?" Thor asked. His sighed tiredly and lifted his weary gaze to meet hers.

 

"Hey," she gently pressed her hands to the sides of his face. "Of course you're allowed. You may be a god, but you're not invulnerable and that's alright. It's more than alright. The humanity in you is what makes you good. But this isn't weakness, it's the beginnings of a downward spiral. Mourn for your people, but forgive yourself."

 

Thor pressed his forehead against her swollen stomach allowing Jane to comfort him.

 

"I know you Thor, which is why I also know that you have already done everything possible to save them. If you don't let this go, it will kill you." She pressed a kiss on top of his head. "Every time I look up at the sky, I wonder and worry about you. I want you to find some kind of happiness, Thor. Even if you don't think you deserve it."

 

Thor felt a kick from her stomach and pulled back. He looked up at Jane surprised.

 

Jane pressed her lips together muffling a giggle."I'm sorry, he wakes up at the most inconvenient times." She rubbed the top of her stomach.

 

"No," Thor marveled at her stomach placing his hand where he felt the movement. "No need to apologize," his mouth broke into a wide smile when he felt something press into his palm. "I've always wanted this," he confessed. "A family to call my own."

 

Jane smiled warmly. "It's not too late for that. I know you live for thousands of years, but if you want it, you have to go after it."

 

"But it's too late for us," Thor smiled ruefully.

 

"I know," Jane said stroking his hair, "we always had terrible timing. And we were terrible at expressing what we felt or what we wanted," she added. "I was at fault too. I couldn't tell you what I wanted. Because I never wanted you to choose between me and your home, your birthright."

 

Thor looked away guilt written on his face. That was what he wanted to apologize for, but could not bring himself to. He would have chosen his people over her every time, and Jane knew that.

 

"I've known my husband to be since I was seventeen," Jane began. "We met in a freshmen chemistry class. We dated throughout undergrad, but come graduation we thought the most logical thing to do was break up. It made sense," she shrugged.

 

"I was starting graduate school for my PhD in Physics, and he was going to medical school across the country. I didn't see him again for over a decade and even then we had lousy timing. I was working at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, and he had a successful practice in Austin. But then one day half of the world turned to dust. He called me in a panic trying to leave a message but something cut him off. I kept calling and calling him back hoping he would answer, and he finally did. We were so relieved and happy to hear each other's voices. A week later I packed my bags and booked a one way ticket to Austin."

 

A jealous part of Thor wondered if she ever felt that way for him. To drop everything that was important to her to be with him, but he brushed it aside. He had no right to feel that way. He never asked her to give up her life here and join him in Asgard.

 

"What are you going to name him?"

 

"James, after my dad. He actually went by Jimmy."

 

A ding sounded and Jane abruptly let go of Thor. She rushed over to her computer monitor with Thor standing closely behind her.

 

She smiled. "I think I've found him."

* * *

 

"So this is the atrium. Anytime you get lost you should try to find this place again. Most hallways and entrances lead here," Steve explained as they entered a large opening. The space was light and airy with walkways on every level.

 

Hermione padded alongside him happy to leave the infirmary finally. The more she explored the Avengers Compound the more she decided it was more Vauxhall Cross than Canary Wharf.

 

"This microchip Bruce fitted on your neck brace will allow you to move freely around the compound," said Natasha. She flanked Hermione's other side. "Almost all the doors are sliding so you should have no issue. There are however rooms that are off limits."

 

"Nothing you want to see anyways," Steve remarked, "it's mostly abandoned offices and deserted sleeping quarters."

 

"The chip is also a tracking device," Natasha informed her as they crossed one of the many walkways. "Unfortunately we cannot take any chances."

 

Hermione wondered if they were afraid of her escaping or something else. At least they didn't lock her up.

 

They arrived at one of the exits. "You're free to go outside if you like," Steve knelt down next to her fixing her neck brace double checking that it was secure. "As long as you wear this chip, you are safe. The weapons system won't open fire at you. The staff and guards have been informed not to bother you unless it looks like you are in need of assistance. If you get lost we'll be able to find you." Steve had also issued a memo to everyone to not shoot the canine-like creature sporting a neck brace.

 

Steve stood up and pressed the exit button; the door opened to the outside letting in a blast of chilly December air that none of the three were affected by. Steve braced his hands on his knees while bending down halfway, so he could make eye contact with her again, "if you need me you can usually find me in the training room we showed you earlier. Same with Natasha," he threw a brief glance to her. She nodded to confirm. "Though I have no doubt that you can find us easily with that nose of yours," he said as he rose to his full height. He stepped to the side and extended his arm to gesture her to go ahead.

 

Hermione stepped through the door before making a full sprint into the woods. She wanted to explore the property in case she did need to make an escape. All around the compound were trees and greenery, she assumed they were in the countryside.

 

Hermione didn't know what to make of Steve Rogers. He seemed like a very serious, well mannered, and restrained man, a bit old fashioned too. She could tell by his build and disciplined demeanor that he was probably a military man. Definitely not as approachable as Dr. Banner. Natasha Romanoff was another matter. She was unreadable and she could not tell if the woman liked or disliked her. She had remembered both of them from before. They had visited Thor when they were still in Scotland.

 

The rustling of grass alerted her to the presence of prey. She spotted a grey rabbit several feet away from her staring back at her frozen in fear. Now that she was fed regular meals she no longer needed to hunt, but her mouth still salivated at the sight of the rabbit. She decided it was best to back away. No need to kill unnecessarily she reasoned.

 

An arrow whizzed past her ear spearing the unassuming rabbit. Stunned Hermione backed away and turned around only to see a man dressed in the same dark combat attire as Romanoff and Rogers. He waved and jogged over to her. She recognized him instantly.

 

"Hi. I'm Clint, Clint Barton. I also go by the alias Hawkeye, but you can call me Clint. Once you um, regain your ability to speak," he said as he knelt down. He removed the arrow from the rabbit's eye socket cleaning it before depositing it back into his quiver. "You must Ylva," he said jutting his chin towards her neck brace. "I've been looking for you." Clint retracted his bow and slung it over his shoulder.

 

"Thor cornered me before he left on his mission earlier this week. He asked me to feed you. He didn't trust anyone else apparently. Probably because I'm the only one on the team that has kids to feed, which was why I've been MIA. I have three children under age of ten that came down with a cold and a very exhausted wife to take care of," he explained. "Anyways he said rabbit was your favorite," he held up the rabbit he just killed in front of her.

 

Hermione inwardly grimaced so much for unnecessary killing. She supposed it was a nice gesture from this man and thoughtful on Thor's part.

 

"Full disclosure, I've never cooked rabbit before. Actually, I've never killed a rabbit before. My kids would cry if they found out that I've murdered bugs bunny. So let's keep this between you and me, kay?" he winked.

 

Hermione was not naive enough to think the man in front of her honed his skills as an archer by only shooting targets. If he did not kill rabbits and wild game then he must have plenty of other secrets he kept from his children.

 

"Anyways, you hungry? Have Nat and Bruce been feeding you alright? They only know how to make ham and cheese sandwiches and instant ramen." He started towards the compound expecting her to follow.

 

Mostly take away food Hermione wanted to say as she trotted alongside him. So far every night Natasha had plopped down an array of menus in front of her and allowed her to choose. Then they would order way too much food. It surprised her that anyone delivered this far away. Perhaps they paid an expensive surcharge for the inconvenience.

 

Clint led her to the communal kitchen. The surfaces were spotless and shiny indicating the kitchen was rarely used for cooking. There was a large package sitting on the counter with 'AmazonFresh' written on the side.

 

"So glad you can order groceries online now. As you can probably tell we're pretty isolated out here," Clint said as he unpacked the the groceries. "Back in the heydey we had a kitchen staff that cooked for us."

 

Hermione had noticed this when she first woke up. It seemed strange that there were so few people around for a building this large.

 

Clint opened the refrigerator and groaned loudly when he saw the towers of takeaway containers. "And this is what happens when we're in charge of feeding ourselves." He pulled over the rubbish bin and dumped the entire contents of the bottom shelf to make room for the fresh groceries. "So this was what they've been feeding you," he glanced over at her.

 

Hermione shrugged. She didn't mind actually. It had been a long time since she had any type of restaurant food. Though she had to admit that it was a bit much. The portion sizes in America were very generous.

 

"Well, you'll get fat if they keep feeding you this stuff unless you come training with us," Clint said. He returned his attention to the rabbit he laid on the counter.

 

He removed a rather large combat knife he had concealed on his person and twirled it in his hand. "Hmm..Right, I've never dismembered a rabbit either." Knife poised in his hand he stared down at the rabbit unsure of how to proceed. "But I'm sure there's a video on youtube or something," he said as he stabbed the knife into the corner of the wooden cutting board. "Show me how to skin and butcher a rabbit. But put on a safe search filter first. I don't want to see something I can't unsee," Clint said to the ceiling.

 

That was more for Ylva's benefit than his. There's not much Clint hadn't seen in his line of work. Except maybe a wolf that was really a witch in disguise. That was new to him. He dragged a sturdy chair over to the stove before he started to prep and gestured for Hermione to sit and watch.

 

"Right away sir, here's a recent clip of Chef Thomas Keller of New York's renowned three Michelin star restaurant Per Se cleaning and butchering a rabbit for his Lapin a La Cocotte or rabbit stew." The AI answered startling Hermione so she almost tipped the chair over when she backed up at the sight of the transparent screen that popped up in midair displaying a video clip of a man in chef whites skinning a rabbit. Clint steadied the chair with his hand. "You'll get used to it."

 

It was either magic or very advanced muggle technology. She leaned toward the latter.

 

"Three stars, eh? Not bad for a midweek meal. What do you think? Should we make a stew? I think I have most of the ingredients..." He glanced over at Hermione who ignored him.

 

Her attention was transfixed at the projection that appeared out of thin air. When had muggles invented something that approximated magic? When she learned she was a witch she was so excited and eager to explore the wizarding world that to the extent that she may have neglected her muggle heritage. But this was an opportunity to explore that side of her, and she could not wait until she turned back into human, so she can ask Dr. Banner to teach her everything.

 

"Stew it is," he muttered as he got to work on the rabbit. Despite not having butchered a whole rabbit before, he broke down the carcass demonstrating the same skill and precision as the chef in the video making Hermione wonder what exactly he did for a living. Judging by his physique, it was probably the same thing Steve Rogers did. All of Thor's friends seemed to be in peak physical shape. She assumed they were either soldiers, spies, highly trained killers, or all three.

 

Clint whistled as he seared off the delicate pieces of rabbit before adding the vegetables, wine, stock, and aromatics. The kitchen smelled divine.

 

"Huh, I think I missed something," Clint said as he sifted through the various empty packages that littered the counter top. "Pause and exit out full screen, please. I want to see if there is a recipe in the description." He didn't feel like re-watching the video. The man in the video was kind of boring and dry. Hopefully the stew won't be that way.

 

"Right away sir." The screen minimized into a web page.

 

Then she saw it. In small print underneath the video was 'published Mar 14, 2018.'

 

"Scroll down. Ah, peas!" he slapped his hand on the bench. "I forgot about the peas." Clint turned down the flame on the stove and went to the fridge to get his missing ingredient.

 

Meanwhile Hermione's head spun with panic. This had to be a joke she thought. A prank of some sort. It was not 2018! Twenty years have not passed since the Battle of Hogwarts. She was imprisoned at most five months. Her parents! She needed to find her parents.

 

The chair fell over to its side when she leaped off and ran through the door.

 

"That's fine, I'll just clean up here by myself," Clint called after her. "It's not like I've been slaving over the hot stove for the last hour or so," he grumbled as he placed the lid on the pot and transferred it to the oven.

 

He set the timer for two hours, "where is she going?"

 

"She's headed toward Dr. Banner's laboratory, sir."

* * *

 

 _Finite Incantatem, Finite Incantatem, Finite Incantatem!_ Hermione chanted in her head. Nothing happened. She quickened her pace when she caught Bruce's scent. He was where she expected him to be.

 

Bruce normally wore his noise cancelling headphones as he worked so he did not hear Ylva come in. He was nearly finished with the modified keyboard he had promised her. Feeling a strong tug, he looked down to see her grasping his shirt with her mouth.

 

"What's wrong, Ylva?" he removed his headphones placing them securely around his neck, "are you in pain?" he asked in alarm.

 

Hermione could not shake her head as the neck brace hindered her movement.

 

"Hold on, give me two more minutes." Bruce quickly finished the code. "There may be few bugs, but we'll work those out later."

 

"Can you run the script I just wrote?"

 

"Certainly, sir."

 

A large semi transparent keyboard appeared suspended in the air just like the video screen did in the kitchen earlier. Its keys were enlarged. She had played with her dad's workstation enough to know how to use it.

 

"Let's test this out. What's wrong?"

 

Hermione had a million questions, but she only typed one word. "Date?"

 

"Date?" Bruce scratched his head, "as in today's date?"

 

Hermione pressed the 'yes' key with her nose. It was strange because the keyboard had a tactile response built in and reacted as if she really pressed a solid key.

 

Bruce took out his phone to check because like most people he periodically forgot what day it was."Today is Tuesday, December 18, 2018." He even held up his phone for her to see.

 

Hermione slumped to the floor. Her heart sank. How did twenty years go by? She started hyperventilating. Suddenly it made sense. The technology she had seen was so far from what she remembered back at home. Their mobiles and computers were smaller and sleeker. The futuristic aircraft she saw Thor's friends leave on. This entire building with its sliding doors and voice recognition software was straight out of one of those sci-fi shows she used to watch with her father.

 

"Ylva? Are you okay?" Bruce crouched down beside her. He removed the neck brace. "Just breathe," he patted her back awkwardly as he tried to coach her out of her panic attack. This situation was bizarre and a first for him. It made him uncomfortable. He briefly eyed the locked med cabinet and thought about feeding her a couple of benzos, but decided against it. "Go easy. Start with your name." He manipulated the keyboard with his fingers so that it levitated just above the floor closer to her.

 

A minute and a half later she typed out Hermione Jean Granger with her snout. It was a long name.

 

"Well, it's nice to meet you Hermione," Bruce surprised her with the correct pronunciation, "A Winter's Tale, right?"

 

'Yes' she pressed, then she kept typing.

 

"Find my parents," Bruce read out loud, "okay, where are they?" He adjusted his glasses while he waited for her to slowly peck out Australia and her parent's fake names.

 

"No city or state? Last whereabouts?"

 

She pressed 'no.'

 

"Banner, what's wrong?" Thor came in to find both Ylva on the floor with Bruce hunched over her.

 

Bruce looked up to see that Thor had returned. He quickly closed out the screen knowing the conversation was automatically saved."Um...She was in shock, but she's alright now." He looked at her and she nodded slightly.

 

Hermione looked over to the door where Thor stood. He was in full armor holding his ax by his side.

 

Thor carefully approached them not knowing how Ylva was going to react.

 

"Where's Tony?" Bruce asked.

 

"I couldn't find him. The trail went cold somewhere around Kallu, so I came back."

 

Bruce was disappointed, but he had more things to take care of now including the young woman in front of him as well as two people named Monica and Wendell Wilkins to track down. "I think you should take Her-Ylva to Wong." Bruce corrected not wanting to rob them of their first meeting. "It's best to do it now rather than later."

 

"Who is Wong? I don't believe I've met him."

 

"He's a sorcerer like Strange. He guards the New York Sanctum now that Strange is gone. I think he might have a better idea as to how to change her back."

 

"What about Stark?"

 

"Jane and I will continue looking for him," Bruce sighed, "thank you for trying anyhow."

 

He turned back to Hermione. "I don't think you need this anymore," he picked up the neck brace from the floor, "will you go with Thor?"

 

Hermione nodded, if this Wong person was really a sorcerer like he said then he may be her only hope. Thor waited for her to stand up on her wobbly legs. He wanted to help, but was unsure if she wanted him to touch her.

 

"Do you remember where the Sanctum is located?" Bruce called after him.

 

"177A Bleecker Street," Thor said as he exited the laboratory.

 

Hermione lagged behind a few paces. They walked in silence. She expected to follow him to the hangar or the garage, but instead they were just outside. Flakes of snow speckled her fur, this was the first snow of the year in New York.

 

"Ylva, I know that I've hurt you," Thor said with his back still facing her.

 

"I knew there was something special about you from the moment I saw you," he said turning to face her. "I just didn't know what it was. When I saw your magic, I thought you were Loki. No," he retracted regretfully, "I wished you were Loki."

 

Hermione wagged her tail wondering where this preamble was going. She was impatient to meet this sorcerer.

 

"Other than you liking rabbits, baths, and books, I've realized that I don't know you at all. I don't know your name. Where you came from," Thor said his eyes downcast, "after all you know everything about me. Even after what I've done you still allow yourself to be alone with me."

 

Sometime during Thor's brief absence, Hermione had unconsciously forgiven him, but it just occurred to her that Thor had yet to realize this. She nudged his leg until he knelt down in front of her. She licked his face. Settling between his knees, she placed her paw on his thigh resting her head of his shoulder. The closest to a hug she could give him.

 

Thor closed his arms around her hugging her gently. "I want to know you. I can't wait to know you," he said softly, "I'm sure you have lots to say."

 

Thor summoned the bifrost with Stormbreaker, and they disappeared in a flash of brilliant light. The experience was much more pleasant than apparition. Seconds later, they arrived at the doorstep of the Sanctum Sanctorum. It was like traveling on a rainbow colored lift at the speed of light.  _So this was how Thor got around._

 

Thor knocked on the door expecting to be transported inside like last time he visited 177A Bleecker Street, but they remained stationary on the doorstep. They heard the shuffling of feet before the door swung open.

 

Wong sized Thor up and grunted a lukewarm greeting, "what do you want?"

 

"I'm Thor Odinson," Thor introduced himself placing his hand on his broad chest, "you must be Wong. I've been acquainted with Dr. Steven Strange."

 

"Yes, I know," Wong deadpanned. He neither confirmed nor denied his identity. "What do you want?" he repeated. His hand positioned firmly on the door ready to slam it in Thor's face. The last time he was here he broke a number of precious, rare objects.

 

"We need your help."

 

"We?"

 

Thor stepped aside revealing Ylva sitting primly behind him. Her bushy tail sweeping the floor.

 

Wong clasped his hands behind him and bent at the waist to examine Ylva closely. "What a big dog you have," he observed. "Is it housebroken?" He turned his head to Thor. Wong only had one facial expression, and it was inscrutable.

 

"Um..yes," Thor answered scratching the back of his head.

 

Hermione glared at both of them.

 

Thor cleared his throat, "she's also not a dog. She's a w-human. A witch actually," he clarified.

 

"Hmmm…."

 

If he was intrigued, neither Hermione nor Thor could tell.

 

Wong took a step back and relented, "alright, you may enter." They were instantly transported to the inside of an elegant foyer. Unlike apparition, Hermione didn't feel like she disappeared and reappeared in a different place. It was almost as if the space around her shifted while she stayed in the same spot.

 

"Tea?" Wong asked appearing behind them with a tray holding two cups of steaming hot tea.

 

"Thank you." Thor took the two cups placing Ylva's cup on the floor. "We were hoping you could use some of your sorcery to help change her back. She seems to be stuck in this form," Thor explained.

 

Wong looked at him and then at her and said, "no."

 

"What do you mean no?" Thor demanded accidentally crushing the steaming hot cup of tea in his hand. "I haven't even offered you anything yet in exchange." He pointed a finger at Wong. "Only a fool would turn down a favor from the God of Thunder, wizard!" he barked.

 

Wong was unimpressed."I mean no as I cannot change her back. I am not a wizard. You don't seem to know anything about sorcery. It allows us to manipulate reality, create illusions, see through them, open portals to other worlds, access different dimensions, planes of reality. Whatever spell she is under I cannot undo because it physically altered her. Transformative magic is not within our domain."

 

Hermione was more curious than disappointed. Clearly, he practiced a different type of magic that she was unfamiliar with.

 

"But that does not mean I cannot help you at all. Are you able to communicate with her?"

 

"Yes, she has demonstrated that she understands what I say to her," Thor boasted, "right, Ylva?"

 

Hermione nodded.

 

"But are you able to understand what she's trying to communicate to you?"

 

Thor looked at Ylva guiltily. He had to admit that their conversations were a bit one sided.

 

Suddenly they found themselves in a library. Wong pulled a few books from the shelf. "These books are about astral projections. It teaches a person how to project one's soul. If she succeeds she should be able to reveal herself to you by separating from her current physical form meaning she'll finally be able to speak to you." He handed a small stack of books to Thor. "These are all the same book just different translations."

 

Hermione was willing to give it a go. If anything it will at least allow her to talk to everyone. She was also excited at the prospect of learning a different branch of magic she had never heard of before.

 

Wong disappeared, and they were left alone in a lounge filled with comfy couches and a lit fireplace. The room reminded her of the Gryffindor common room only less red and more refined than cozy.

 

"Which one?" Thor asked as he presented the books to her. He was unaware of what language she spoke and read since he communicated in Allspeak.

 

Hermione picked the title that was in English. It didn't look as old and worn as the other copies, so it must be the most recent translation.

 

Thor grabbed the book and settled comfortably on the divan. He opened his arm and beckoned her to join him. She hopped up on to the spacious couch next to him and assumed her favorite reading position, lying on her back. He closed his arm over her stomach his fingers lightly grazed her ribs tickling her. He watched with amusement as her hind legs twitched from the stimulation. He will miss these moments with her when she is no longer a wolf. She will probably want to read her books by herself. Maybe she won't want to stay with him either, but he pushed that thought aside.

 

Hermione, who did not share in Thor's amusement, shot him an annoyed look before she nipped his ear when his fingers did not cease. He kissed her on top of her head and patted her on the stomach. With his free hand he flipped opened the book and held it up for both of them to read. "This time I'll let you dictate how fast we read," he said as he stroked the space behind her ear.

 

Hermione barely registered his comment. Her eyes already absorbed the first page, and she nudged Thor impatiently to turn the page. This was what Hermione Granger did best, she studied, dissected, and assimilated information. Thor was just there to turn the page.

 

As the day faded into night, the candles that lighted the room burned down to the ends of their wicks leaving puddles of wax. At one point Thor fell asleep. Exhausted from the time spent searching for Tony and bored by the reading material, he nodded off.

 

"Thor?"

 

"Hmmm?" he stirred waking from his nap. Someone said his name. He opened his eyes to find a pair of honeyed brown ones staring back at him, and he instantly knew who it was.

 

"Ylva."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'm sure some of you have noticed I've been inserting bits from the comics as well as from mythology. Like Jane marrying Dr. Keith Kincaid and having a son named Jimmy. Thor being the son of Odin and the Earth Goddess Gaea (Sidenote: That makes Thor just one quarter Asgardian! Since Odin was the Son of Bor and the Frost Giantess Bestla). I just figured why make things up when I can just pull it from the comic verse


	10. Chapter 10

Thor stared up at her from his reclined position on the divan. She hovered over him watching him expectantly. He didn't need to touch her to know she wasn't corporeal. She was a wispy little thing. Her body was semi-translucent. He could see the outline of the bookcase facing him through her. Her skin, luminescent and pale, was nearly indistinguishable from her dress. Dressed in a loose, white gown she looked ethereal and inhuman, like a wood nymph or a faery. He blinked several times to confirm that her ghost like appearance was not just a trick of the light.

 

The silence stretched on for longer than what was comfortable for Hermione so she blurted out something that had bothered her for a long time, "I'm sorry I burned down your house!"

 

Thor struggled to form a response still stunned by her appearance. She was biting her bottom lip waiting for him to say something, but he was too distracted. He just kept imagining all those times he washed her in his bathtub back at the cottage. He had touched nearly every part of her, and he could not wait to do so again when she was human.

 

"That's...alright," he managed to choke out. Except it wasn't. The whole house was uninhabitable now, but she looked so contrite and pretty. Thor may be a god, but he was also male. He swallowed heavily, "I'm sorry I mistook you for my brother and tried to choke you to death." Guilt came over him when he saw the bruises dotting her delicate neck.

 

"I think you've more than made up for it when you saved my life again," she unconsciously touched the side of her neck.

 

"It was my fault you ran away in the first place," Thor asserted.

 

Hermione shook her head, "but you didn't put a bullet through me. You didn't have to go after me or save me once you realized that I wasn't Loki either, but you did anyways."

 

She swallowed and looked down at Ylva. She appeared to be asleep at the foot of the divan. "Had you not come after me, I would have died like that. No one would have known what happened to me." Not that there was anyone that was looking for her. Not anyone that loved her anyways.

 

"Do you forgive me?" Her forgiveness may have been a foregone conclusion, but Thor needed to hear those words.

 

Hermione nodded without hesitation, "I forgive you."

 

Thor exhaled in relief. Not taking his eyes off of her, he eased himself up into a seating position on the divan so his gaze was leveled with hers. "What is your name?"

 

"Hermione," she said, "Hermione Granger."

 

"Hermione _,_ " he echoed. He liked that very much. It was lovely and unusual just like her. "Named after the daughter of the most beautiful woman rumored to have lived on Midgard?"

 

"No, actually. My mum was quite fond of Shakespeare's Winter's Tale. It was her favorite play. She named me after the queen in the story."

 

"It's fitting either way," his mouth curved into a slight smile, "it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Hermione." Thor had a look about him that reminded her of the way Viktor used to look at her, unabashed adoration tempered by his hard features. It made her blush.

 

Hermione looked down feeling like she was melting under his intense gaze. Somehow without the skin of her animagus, she felt bare and vulnerable in his presence like she was meeting him for the first time. Fingering her dress she asked, "um..what do we do now?"

 

"We need to figure out how to turn you back into a human." He folded his arms behind his head and leaned back comfortably into the couch cushion. "Start from the beginning. Spare no details. I want to know everything. How did this happen?"

* * *

"You don't believe me, do you?" Hermione bit her lip. Turning around she tried to hide her frustration from Thor.

 

Thor stopped pacing the length of the room and walked around to face her. "Do I believe that you are a witch? Yes. That you traveled twenty years into the future, that is plausible with magic I suppose." He hesitated scratching the back of his neck before he expressed his doubts. "I just don't quite believe that two magical civil wars would have escaped the notice of SHIELD before its collapse. They would have interfered. Your world would have been exposed long ago."

 

"It was a secret war. I told you, the Ministry had teams of obliviators to modify the memories of muggles. The Minister of Magic even corroborates with the Prime Minister to spoon feed carefully crafted stories to the muggle media. All to erase the evidence of magic and the conflict. The war was also isolated to the United Kingdom. Perhaps your SHIELD was too busy meddling in other affairs across the globe. Or for all we know they may have helped with the cover up. You said SHIELD was a seedy, covert organization not to be trusted." Hermione grew more animated as she spoke. "I mean for Merlin's sake! If they hid a secret Nazi organization within their own ranks, it's plausible that they may have helped hide the magical conflict too. Then their secret was buried when your friends took them down," Hermione argued. That made perfect sense.

 

Thor shook his head."Nonetheless, those of us on Asgard would have known. Heimdall sees everything that goes on in this universe. If Voldemort was as terrible and powerful as you say he is, then Heimdall would have registered him as a threat and warned us. He monitors all potential threats across the nine realms and that includes Midgard."

 

Hermione frowned, "you once said Loki hid himself and a small army of Frost Giants from Heimdall."

 

"Loki was a very skilled Seidr, and it wasn't a small army. It was just a few Frost Giants," Thor corrected her.

 

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest defensively, "so you don't think us lowly earth bound magicals would have the skill and power to cloak ourselves from likes of your kind?"

 

Thor suppressed his smile not wanting to further rile her up despite how cute she looked in all of her frustration and self righteous anger. Her temperament surprised him. He thought her spirit was more like that of a fierce lioness than the cool aloofness of a wolf. "I'm merely saying that large societies of magical beings may be able to hide themselves from non-magicals, but they would never have escaped the eyes of Asgard. Heimdall would have known. My father would have known. Magic died out on Midgard many centuries ago."

 

"No! We never died out, that's just what we wanted the muggles to believe because they were hunting us," Hermione insisted. "We simply went into hiding and imposed the International Statute of Secrecy." She balled up her fists and darted across the room her dress fluttering around her bare ankles. Her increasing frustration with direction of the conversation showed.

 

"And now we're killing our own," she said softly as she looked out the window. The sun's rays peeked out from behind the reflective skyscrapers. It was nearly morning, and they had been talking all night. She tried to touch the glass, but her hand bypassed the surface like it was air. She could see her hand outside of the window and Thor's reflection.

 

"Wait," she perked up. "What about the acromantulas?" she spun around and glided back to Thor. "You fought off an entire army of them. You didn't think the sudden appearance of giant spiders was strange?" She thought about it and realized given Thor's age and how well traveled he was that maybe there wasn't a manner of beast he hadn't encountered. "On earth, I mean," she added.

 

"Of course we did. You should have seen Barton's reaction. He was terribly afraid of them even though he never came across a live one. That was why we spent days investigating on where they came from. We were worried there was nest of them somewhere. We searched all throughout the countryside, but they disappeared with the fog when I came back with no trace."

 

"That was probably the Ministry's doing. They must have destroyed the evidence," she asserted. "The spiders came from the Forbidden Forest. It surrounds Hogwarts. It's home to loads of magical creatures not just acromantulas, but centaurs, unicorns, thestrals." She flitted about the room erratically not anchored by anything as she spoke. Thor wanted to grab her and hold her still against him to reassure her that they will figure this out together, but it was impossible to catch her.

 

"Those creatures have not existed here in Midgard for centuries. They were thought to have died out. Where is this forest?" Thor crossed his arms over his broad chest mirroring her earlier action. "Where is this place you refer to as Hogwarts?"

 

"Hogwarts was the magical school I attended."

 

"Ah, yes, the magic castle," Thor said piecing the two together, "interesting name for a school…" he muttered.

 

"It's located somewhere in the mountains of Scotland. Actually Hogwarts is unplottable. You wouldn't see it on an ordinary map. It cannot be found by muggles," Hermione stated almost verbatim from  _Hogwarts a History_. "There are spells to protect it from discovery. That was where the final battle was, and where I escaped from. It's Voldemort's stronghold now."

 

"Scotland is quite a ways away from Norway, how did you cross the North Sea?" Thor asked,"did you use your magic?"

 

"No. I hadn't realized I could do magic in my animagus form yet. I still strug - wait, what?" Hermione paused turning her head to face Thor, "what are you talking about? I've never even been to Norway."

 

Thor gave her a puzzled look."You lived with me in Norway for the last month."

 

"No," Hermione let out a small nervous laugh. "No, no, no," she shook her head in denial. "That's simply not possible. You're wrong. We were in Scotland this entire time," she said with a false bravado.

 

Thor's eyebrows arched upwards."No, sweetling. I swam laps around the British Isles nearly everyday before you came along. I'm aware of where they are in relation to Norway."

 

"I don't," she faltered. The fog, the words of the centaurs, it suddenly came back to her, "believe you," she finished weakly.

 

"I think you don't want to believe that you're further from home than you thought."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I have a theory. Years ago there was a Convergence. Multiple realms merged and the universe was nearly plunged into darkness. I think what happened the day we met was something like that but on a much smaller scale. Instead of realms within the same universe, two separate universes converged and created an opening for you to slip through."

 

"You think I came from another universe that is nearly identical to this one?" she asked in disbelief.

 

Thor nodded. "Everything you have told me so far has confirmed my suspicions. You came from a world where your type of magic still existed. It did not die like it did in this world."

 

"So not only am I in the wrong century, I'm also in the wrong universe. Great!" Hermione threw her hands up in the air. She turned away from him and glided back to the window. "If, and that's a big if, that is true, then how do I get back?" she glanced back at Thor.

 

"I do not know the answer to that, Hermione. I'm sorry." He did not miss the slight slump in her shoulders, the way her eyes cast downwards, and the subtle quiver in her bottom lip.

 

"But it's nearly morning now," Thor blew out the candles and lanterns as the light from the windows rendered them useless. "We should speak to Wong. Perhaps he would know."

* * *

"So you're an interloper. I thought there was something strange about you," Wong said impassively as always, "you have innate magic. A very rare gift."

 

"Is there a way back?" Hermione asked. She still did not fully believe Thor.

 

Wong did not answer right away and that made Hermione nervous. "There is a way back," Wong said carefully, "but the likelihood of you finding it is very small or I should say the likelihood of you finding your way back is one in a billion give or take."

 

"So there is a way back, but finding it is near impossible?" Impossible were odds she was familiar with. She had broken into Gringotts, a feat that had been believed to be impossible. "How 'impossible' exactly?"

 

"Allow me to explain," Wong waved his hands and the room filled with bubbles. Each one spun on its own axis floating and bumping into each other in a chaotic fashion.

 

"Each of these spheres represents a single universe. Some look like ours. Some have life like ours. Some have no organic life at all. Some are perfect paradises. Others contain unimaginable horrors. You look like us so you must have come from a universe similar to ours," Wong speculated. "This is but a small fraction of the billions of universes that exist. This is ours." He pointed to a red bubble bobbing along a sea of blue bubbles.

 

"As you can see these universes are constantly bumping and sliding against each other," Wong continued. "You are here because your universe intersected with ours at a moment in time and place. You're lucky you managed to end up on earth only twenty years ahead of your time instead of some distant planet thousands of years in the future."

 

"If these universes are constantly bumping into each other, then wouldn't there be more incidences like this? I would assume these crossovers would be a frequent occurrence," Hermione deduced.

 

Wong shook his head. "The barrier between the two worlds must be breached in order to cross over. Sometimes there are kinks or weaknesses in the barriers as they are fluid and dynamic. Magic is usually involved. We use sling rings to create openings, but that is not the only way. You said you came from 1998 Scotland and arrived in 2018 Norway?"

 

"Yes, October 31st." Hermione gasped, "Samhain, the veil is thinnest on this day," Hermione echoed the words of the centaurs.

 

"Ah, yes. The commonality was Samhain, lots of powerful magic occurs on that day. Our two worlds must have aligned on the last day of October just twenty years apart. This was a very rare occurrence indeed. Time moves independently within the respective universes of course. Even if you were to find you way home right now, there's no telling 'when' you will appear."

 

Hermione watched as the bubbles collided bouncing off each other randomly. They passed through her like fish in water. "And when do you suppose such an alignment will happen again," she asked tentatively already knowing the odds.

 

"The chances of that happening again may not be for another million years or more."

 

Her heart sank. If she couldn't find her way home, then she couldn't change back. If her type of magic did not exist here, that would mean there was no library filled with magical text she could dig through to find the answer. There was no Ilvermorny Library, no MACUSA, no wand makers in this version of America. Not to mention she will never see her parents ever again.

 

"It's purely statistical. We also constantly monitor these occurrences and record them. The instance you just described is incredibly rare. So rare it may not even happen again even in Thor's lifetime."

 

"If you monitor these occurrences, then why did this recent convergence escape your notice?" Thor had been silent until now busy watching Hermione's reaction. "There was an invasion of giant man eating spiders, which I took care of by the way. You're welcome." He casually flicked a sphere hovering near his face with his finger, and watched as it collided with a bunch of other ones scattering them in all directions.

 

"Lack of manpower," Wong said simply, "we have half the number of sorcerers guarding our world. The Ancient One had passed and Strange has been missing. We are without a Sorcerer Supreme."

 

Wong turned back to Hermione,"unfortunately, I do not know how to send you home. I can however teach you how to use a sling ring," he held up a simple piece of jewelry consisting of a narrow flat setting on top of two rings. "I have no doubt you'll master it quickly as you were able to master your astral projection in no time at all. But not only is it dangerous to cross between universes, you may travel your entire lifetime and never get home. And once you leave here you may never find your way back as the universes are constantly shifting past each other. It would be a fruitless journey."

 

He illustrated his point by showing the to two spheres touching briefly before drifting apart. "Once the universes lose contact with each other that path is gone."

 

"Then how do you travel without getting lost?" Hermione asked.

 

"There is a spell on the sling ring that tethers us to a place. It's like traveling with a spool of thread. If you go too far you run out or the thread snaps. That is why we don't travel to other universes. We stay within our universe and the dimensions that overlap it. Watch."

 

Wong used the sling ring to open a portal and disappeared into it. Another portal appeared on the other side of the room where Wong emerged from. "If I wanted to travel to Hong Kong from here, I can do it in seconds." He opened another portal overlooking Hong Kong Harbor and the city skyline at night.

 

She heard the crashing waves. If she had flesh she would have felt the breeze and the salty mist.

 

"Similarly I can also access the mirror dimension using the same sling ring. A dimension that reflects ours but bears the consequences while ours remains unchanged."

 

He opened another portal in front of where Thor stood next to a large ceramic urn. Inside it was a mirror image of him along with the same urn. Wong threw a weapon through the opening shattering the urn." Closing the portal he revealed the urn to be intact.

 

"That's incredible," Hermione said. She had never seen or heard of dimensional magic. It sounded very much like science fiction.

 

Wong snapped his fingers to close all the remaining portals. "We don't open portals to other universes for the fear of what we might let in. We have enough threats to worry about within our own universe. That and it would upset the balance," he said cryptically. "Think carefully on whether or not you want to undertake such a journey, Miss Granger." With a wave of his hand the spherical bubbles all disappeared.

 

Hermione avoided Thor for most of the day. She left Ylva asleep on the divan while she drifted through the sanctum unhindered by material barriers. This was what it must felt like to be a ghost haunting Hogwarts. Being non corporeal had its advantages. She simply floated in between the walls and stayed there, where Thor couldn't reach her. She needed time to reflect and process what she learned today. Of course Thor could not stay away. His thudding footsteps alerted Hermione to his arrival.

 

"Hermione?" Thor called, "I know you're in here. Come out." Even when she was a wolf that only worked when she was ready to come to him. She was not his pet and did not appear at his command. She was stubborn, but Thor was patient. "Please?"

 

Hermione stayed where she was hidden behind a wall of books. They were in one of the sanctum's many libraries.

 

"Hermione," Thor sighed, "where are you hiding?"

 

Hermione huffed indignantly. She was not hiding! She was a Gryffindor. She simply needed a moment to herself right now and after everything she just learned, she deserved it.

 

Thor heard a sound and smiled knowing she was in here. Finally, this had been the third library he checked. "I know how you must be feeling right now," he said as he fiddled with what looked like an ornate candelabra.

 

 _No you don't!_ Hermione thought childishly in her head. She was in an alternate universe for Merlin's sake! The chances of her returning to her world and to her human form was nil. She crossed her arms and waited for him to give up and leave.

 

"You feel alone in a place that's not your home. You want to go back, but you can't. I know that feeling all too well, little one," he said as he moved toward the bookshelves. His voice grew louder as he approached her hiding place.

 

 _Well, that was surprisingly accurate._  Hermione felt a pang of guilt. How could she have so easily forgotten that Thor had lost everything.

 

Thor brushed his fingertips along the spines of the books. Hermione heard his heavy footsteps as he circled the room.

 

"I've come to find that nothing can ever replace home," Thor mused, "but you salvage what you can of the old and use it to build something in a new place. And maybe it'll worthy enough to call home someday. People do this everyday. They migrate from famine, natural disasters, political conflicts, war."

 

She blinked and a few tears spilled from her eyes rolling onto her cheeks before vanishing never touching an actual surface. She sniffed and wiped the corners of her eyes. What home did she have to go back to? She sent her parents to Australia. She would be killed on the spot or worse if she were to return to Wizarding Britain.

 

"It's certainly not easy," Thor continued when she neither responded nor revealed herself, "but I'm speaking to a girl who before her majority faced a giant three headed dog, freed an innocent man from execution, all while keeping her two best friends alive in a castle designed to kill small children," Thor smirked. She kept surprising him with her character, tenacity, and wit. He could not wait to discover more about her.

 

A slow smile formed on Hermione's tear streaked face as she listened to Thor speak. She loved hearing his voice. She thought it was beautiful. Every syllable he uttered resonated like a baritone note.

 

Thor frowned when she still remained hidden. "Hermione, talk to me." He hung his head. Maybe he didn't have an infinite amount of patience. He had to find another way to coax her out of hiding, so he resorted to more drastic measures.

 

"If you don't come out, I'm going to have to dismantle this entire room," Thor warned lightly. "It would be a shame if I accidentally damage some of these books in the process. These really old, dusty books. With centuries of precious knowledge printed onto its thin, fragile paper." Just for the effect Thor tipped over a small, sturdy end table, and it landed with a heavy thud. Dr. Strange would have rolled over in his grave had he not turned to dust on Titan.

 

Taking a deep breath and wiping her tear stained face, she revealed herself emerging from behind the bookcase. "I don't think Wong would appreciate that," she said stiffly crossing her arms over her chest. She avoided his eyes knowing hers were probably red from crying. "We're his guests after all. He's going to throw us out if we break things." The whole Sanctum was a museum of precious magical artifacts.

 

Thor righted the table. "He won't need to because we're going back to the compound."

 

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "why?"

 

Thor shrugged, "we've learned everything we can here."

 

Hermione raised her eyebrow finally facing him, "you mean you know how to change me back?"

 

"No," Thor replied, "but Wong doesn't know either. We need to try something else." She had been crying he realized. He lifted his arm ready to wipe away the fleck of moisture resting on her cheek when he remembered that he could not touch her.

 

"Like what?"

 

Thor dropped his arm."I don't know, but maybe Banner does. He promised to help, remember? It'll be much easier now that you can speak to him."

 

Hermione sighed, "Dr. Banner is wonderful. He's already done so much for me. But... what can he do?" she asked gently afraid to offend.

 

"Plenty. The man has seven PhDs," Thor said crossing his arms.

 

Hermione's eyes widened in surprise,"that's...that's very impressive, but unless one of them is in magical transfiguration, I don't think he'll be much help unfortunately."

 

"I guess he neglected to mention that he can transform into a giant, green rage monster then."

 

"Really?" Hermione asked surprised, "he seems like such a kind, soft spoken man." She clearly didn't understand that Bruce Banner turned into a literal giant, green rage monster.

 

"Oh yes. He is known as the Hulk not as smart as Banner of course. He is incredible. Has severe anger issues though. Limited vocabulary. Favorite word is smash. Favorite activity is also smash," Thor described fondly. "I have also fought him in a deathmatch," he said seriously, "and won if anyone asks." He looked pointedly at her.

 

Hermione tilted her head wondering how the fight could have possibly been a deathmatch if they were both still alive.

 

"But I have also fought alongside him before. A truly formidable opponent and a most useful ally whether you're fighting against an army of invading aliens or an army of murder robots or even the Goddess of Death herself," Thor finished with a wide grin.

 

"So he literally turns into a giant green monster?" Hermione asked skeptically deciding she would ask about the aliens, robots, and the Goddess of Death on another day that was less overwhelming.

 

"Yes," Thor answered as if that was totally normal. That might explain why everyone so readily accepted that she was a human trapped in a wolf's body.

 

"Years ago he had an accident in his laboratory that resulted in the aforementioned transformation. He is as far as I know, indestructible." That answered Hermione's previous question about the deathmatch.

 

"Over the years he has developed ways to control his transformation. Perhaps he can help," Thor suggested. He would have felt bad if Banner didn't already volunteer. Bruce already had a lot on his plate with his search for Tony. "The wolf you turn into is not a random animal, but a manifestation of your spirit. The Hulk is an alter ego of Banner's."

 

"Except he wasn't cursed by a deranged witch," Hermione muttered.

 

"I know the circumstances of his transformation were different than yours, but we cannot afford to leave any stone unturned," Thor said pragmatically. "What do you say?"

 

Hermione nodded. Thor was right. She was lucky that these people she barely knew were offering to help her at all.

 

"Great," Thor grinned, "let's gather Ylva and say our goodbyes to Wong so we can head back," he said as he headed toward the stairwell that led to the foyer.

 

"Thor?" Hermione called.

 

"Yes?" Thor turned around to find her still hovering in the same spot.

 

She fiddled with her dress debating on whether to even ask this question, but it had been in the back of her mind for a while. "Why are you helping me? Even before the um...the incident with the fire, even before you knew I was human, you were always there. Helping me. Why?"

 

Thor shrugged. "Because I can," he said simply, "someone once told me that I have a bit of a hero complex."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I'm not sure how to classify the magic in the Dr. Strange movie. It seems like anyone can learn it. So when Thor says magic died centuries ago, he meant natural born witches and wizards. Also I took a lot of liberties with the sorcery in Dr. Strange's universe from what I remembered their powers are sort of mystical and abstract (I have not read the comics). It made for a pretty visually stunning movie though. Favorite character is definitely Wong:)


	11. Chapter 11

A flash of iridescent light from the bifrost revealed the arrival of Thor and Ylva. A half a second later a beam of white light disappeared in the near distance beyond the trees catching both of them off guard.

 

Thor and Ylva exchanged curious looks. He raised his eyebrow, and she accepted the challenge. Not waiting for him to count or say go she took off with Thor close behind her weaving through the trees with practiced ease. Hermione had never been an athlete or even particularly active always preferring to exercise her mind instead. But since her transformation, she had embraced the awesome athleticism her wolf animagus offered her.

 

Along with the agility which allowed her to gracefully leap over the man lying face down on the ground instead of tripping over him. Landing on the ground she swiftly turned herself back around. Her heart nearly stopped. Just a few feet from her was a prone possibly dead body. This was something she remembered watching on the telly with her parents over school breaks. Every now and then an unfortunate jogger would stumble onto a dead body, and then they were both featured on the local evening news. Now it was actually happening to her.

 

She sniffed the air around them tentatively. The smell was not pleasant, but it wasn't the rotting smell of decay that was forever stamped into her brain when her and Harry investigated Bathilda Bagshot's house in Godric's Hollow before they belatedly realized she had died.

 

She took a closer look and confirmed that it was definitely male. If he was dead, he hadn't been for long. Taking a chance, she gently nudged the collar of his shirt with her snout.

 

Tony's eyes snapped opened getting an up close view of Hermione's snout and teeth and immediately let out an unmanly scream before scrambling onto his feet. Hermione backed away slowly.

 

His eyes bugged out of his gaunt, unshaved face. He parted his legs in defensive stance ready to attack like a wounded animal. "No! Just no! I did not fight a bunch of aliens and hitchhike across the universe just to get eaten by a common," he looked up and down at her, "coyote!"

 

Hermione was offended. She was a wolf not a coyote! They were clearly different. Though coyotes were probably more common in this area than wolves. And like she would eat him. He was dirty and sickly. He looked like he got caught in an accident at the tin manufacturing plant. Parts of his body were covered in metal. He had a chest piece glowed bright blue like the light of a patronus.

 

Tony's right hand twitched at his side as he charged up the repulsor. Before he could fire a warning shot to scare her away, Thor appeared.

 

"Stark!" Thor exclaimed having just arrived. "Where have you been?! I've been looking all over the universe for you!"

 

He forgot about the wild animal in front of him. "Oh thank god," Tony threw himself at Thor embracing him. Thor laughed heartily patting him on the back. Tony was not a hugger in fact he normally despised anyone touching him unless it was a prelude to sex. He blamed his emotionally distant and affection withholding parents, but he was so relieved to see a friend. He didn't know if he would get back to earth or what he would find if he did. "It's so good to see you Pointbre- wait," he pulled back to look up at Thor, "what happened to your hair?"

 

"I got it cut when I was waylaid on Sakaar."

 

"Huh. I didn't think you could be any more handsome but somehow you are," he patted Thor's thick bicep as if he was congratulating him on such a feat.

 

"Oh, thanks." Thor smiled graciously running his hand through his cropped hair.

 

Tony frowned, "but what am I supposed to call you now?"

 

"Thor," he deadpanned, "call me Thor."

 

Tony considered it for a moment. "No," he dismissed the idea with a wave of his hand. "I'll come up with something else."

 

Thor scowled.

 

A loud whirring noise coming from the thicket of trees announced another presence.

 

All heads turned to the source of the sound, which got progressively louder. Bruce broke through a copse of trees carrying a loud, flashing device which he promptly threw aside when he saw Tony so that his arms were free to embrace his friend.

 

"Tony? Is that really you?"

 

"It's me big guy," he opened his arms, "back from outer space."

 

"Tony," Bruce shook his head smiling, " oh my god you're back. I can't. I can't believe this..."

 

"Come here you."

 

They hugged each other as if their world was ending. Tony was ecstatic that Bruce survived the aftermath of Thanos, but dreaded to find out who didn't.

 

"You're alive." Tony tightened his hug trying to prolong it because in the next few moments he was sure Bruce was going to tell him the bad news. That Pepper didn't survive or Rhodey turned to dust, and he wasn't ready to hear that.

 

"I never stopped looking for you!" Bruce nearly shouted over the noise of the device. It was the same device Bruce had designed to trace Tony's arc reactor signature. Apparently it was a short range detection device.

 

"I never doubted you!" Tony shouted back.

 

Thor finally crushed the buzzing device with his foot silencing it.

 

"Let's get you inside," Bruce said as he slung Tony's arm around his shoulder supporting him.

 

Hermione and Thor followed the two back to the compound. They needed to speak with Bruce, but it felt wrong to interrupt their little reunion, so they hung back a little.

 

Upon entering the building, Bruce fired off a bunch of directives for the AI. "Page Dr. Helen Cho and have her meet us in the infirmary. Alert Dr. Jane Foster-Kincaid, call off the search. We've found Tony. Also call Pepper Potts and Colonel James Rhodes. Tell them to come to the Avengers Compound immediately. Tell them it's Tony, and we've found him alive."

 

Tony's knees nearly gave out. The knot in his stomach lifted, and he exhaled a laugh. They were alive!

 

"Whoa, Tony," Bruce steadied him, "are you okay?"

 

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just feeling a little weak and malnourished. Space food was horrible and pretty much non-existent." He couldn't help but grin. In just a few hours he will see his best friend and the love of his life, his future wife. Everything he had endured to come back had been worth it. "I am starving. Tacos, I think I want tacos."

 

Bruce saw the gauntness of his face. Tony did look like he lost some weight which made the lines on his face more pronounced. He was gone for eight months, but he looked like he aged a decade. "Of course, we'll order some right now."

 

"No, none of that fast food chain crap. Let's take the quinjet and get some authentic tacos. The kind where you don't know which part of the animal you're eating, but you don't care cause it's so good." Tony didn't know what it was but every time he found himself rescued and alive when he shouldn't have been, he liked to celebrate with cheap, greasy meat wrapped in delicious carbs, "you know from a truck parked in a dimly lit parking lot in downtown LA."

 

"Um, sure, but let's get you some medical attention first." Bruce guided them into the infirmary. "Also, Pepper and Rhodey will be here. I'm sure they want to see you just as much as you want to see them."

 

"Of course, but tacos afterwards," Tony reiterated. His priorities were sometimes misplaced. "Let's all go. We can bring Dolph Lundgren and his pet coyote too." That's what he decided to call Thor for now. He glanced behind him and saw that the animal he encountered had followed them inside. "Drago, you've never had tacos before, have you? OW!"

 

Hermione lightly bit the back of his ankle. This man was so irritating. She could have drawn blood, but she didn't.

 

Tony clamped down his lips suppressing a scream, "dear god that hurt," he groaned through his teeth.

 

Thor laughed, "don't call her a pet or a coyote. She has a name. It's Hermione." He patted her head affectionately like he fully endorsed her hostile behavior.

 

"She needs to be leashed if you're going to bring her inside," Tony said angrily. He bent over rubbing his ankle. "I can't believe you let her attack me like that. I'm already hurt! And when did I start opening my home to wild animals, anyways?"

 

Hermione growled baring her teeth and took a single threatening step toward him. She was just playing with him. He seemed rather full of himself and reminded her of Cormac McLaggen. He could stand to be taken down a peg.

 

"Whoa, nice doggy…I mean Herm-mony." Tony backed away holding his hands up in a placating manner. "Leave it to Thor name her something that's impossible to pronounce," he complained.

 

"That's her given name," Thor said, "it's pronounced Her-my-nee. She is-"

 

"Wait, how did you find out that her name is actually Hermione? Did everything go alright at the Sanctum?" Bruce asked as he helped Tony onto a patient bed. He saw Hermione curl up in the corner to take a nap out of the corner of his eye. He guessed accurately that they were not able to figure out how to change her back.

 

"Yes, but we decided we needed a different approach, which is why we came back," Thor explained.

 

"Hi Dr. Banner." Her sudden appearance caught Tony and Bruce off guard. Tony threw an empty bed pan which went straight through her and landed with a loud clang.

 

Hermione unamused shot Tony an irritated look.

 

"Sorry," Tony muttered.

 

She turned back to Bruce."It's me, Hermione Granger." She smiled and waved tentatively, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

 

"Oh," Bruce said still in shock as he watched her float around passing through objects. "Hi Hermione. Yeah, it's been a while since we've had a presence like yours around here. You're human, but not... solid. Did something go wrong while you were at the Sanctum?" He asked worried.

 

"No, Wong was very helpful. He helped me achieve my astral projection so I can speak to you, but he was unable to change me back unfortunately," she smiled wryly, "wait, what do you mean by a presence like mine?"

 

"A Brit that floats and walks through things," Tony turned to Bruce, "did you and Cho 3-D print another AI while I was gone?"

 

"No, do you not remember what happened last time?"

 

"I don't know what you're talking about." At that moment a dark haired woman dressed in medical scrubs entered the room. "Hello Stark. Good to see that you're alive," she said curtly. She grabbed a pair of latex gloves from a dispenser on the wall before approaching Tony.

 

"Hermione, this is Dr. Helen Cho. She's the attending doctor here," Bruce introduced the pretty doctor, "Helen, this is Hermione. You've seen her chart. It was under the name 'Ylva.'"

 

"Hello," she greeted not even batting an eye at the state she was in, "I trust that Bruce took care of you while I was gone. I was away due to a family emergency when you arrived." Helen was aware of Hermione having reviewed her medical file. Because she was the only licensed doctor at the compound, only she was authorized to sign off on medical charts. She trusted Bruce's competence and allowed him to practice whenever he wished as long as he always turned in his charts for her to review. "Although per protocol, I will need to eventually examine you. It's a liability issue," she explained.

 

"Perhaps, once I finish with Stark here." Helen removed a small flashlight from her pocket and switched it on. Shining it in Tony's eyes, she said, "state your full name, please."

 

"Gaius Julius Caesar," he answered in an affected voice. "Just kidding, Anthony Edward Stark."

 

She scowled and rolled her eyes.

 

"Should we leave?" Bruce interrupted. The three of them were just standing (in Hermione's case floating) there watching Helen administer a medical exam.

 

"No, stay. I might actually break my hippocratic oath and kill him if you leave me alone with him," Helen said tightly. She had a low tolerance for Tony's bullshit. She turned back to Tony. "Do you know what day it is?"

 

"No, why would I? I just got back to Earth. I've been floating in outer space for God knows how long. You should be telling me what day it is."

 

"December 21, 2018," she answered tersely. "Do you know where you are?"

 

"Earth. I just said that."

 

Dr. Cho huffed in annoyance and rushed through the rest of the intake protocol questions. She clicked off the flashlight and set it aside to retrieve a pair of medical scissors to cut open the jersey material.

 

"Hey! Careful!" Tony griped, "this is millions of dollars worth of nanotech." He swotted her hands away. Gripping the edges of his shirt, "I'll just take it off."

 

"Oh my god, who did this?" Her eyes widened at the shoddy stitching and the puckered skin.

 

"The nice alien doctor didn't give me his name. If it was a he. I don't know if he was even a real doctor honestly. He had claws for hands and only one eye. So his depth perception may not have been so great."

 

"That certainly explains it," she muttered, "I'm going to have to redo these. Stay here, I'm going to turn on the regeneration cradle." She left the room.

 

"So you were really in outer space?" Hermione asked incredulously unaware that everyone in the room except for her had been on an intergalactic space adventure.

 

"Yep," but he did not elaborate, "so what's your story?" Tony asked turning everyone's attention on her, "are you a ghost or something?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously at her. "You look like you were in one of those harem cults that committed mass suicide."

 

"Hermione has been cursed. She cannot change back from her wolf form," Thor answered.

 

Tony glanced over to the sleeping wolf in the corner, "that's you?"

 

"Yes, I'm a witch and an animagus, I can change into a wolf at will and in theory change back, but I'm stuck at the moment," she explained feeling strange telling this to a muggle. If Thor and Wong were right she need not worry about the Statute of Secrecy, but she felt that this particular muggle judged her confession with heavy skepticism. "I was hoping that you could help me Dr. Banner. Thor told me about the 'other guy' and how you were able to control your transformation."

 

"I think that's a bit different, Hermione. But if you can't change back, why not just get a new body?" Bruce was met with puzzled looks from Hermione and Thor. "You were able to separate yourself from your body, what if we print you a new body -"

 

"Using the regeneration cradle," they said at the same time. Tony and Bruce looked at each other as if their brains synced in that moment.

 

"What if we were to recreate the same conditions that created Vision?" Bruce suggested, his voice pitched with excitement not characteristic of the normally reserved scientist.

 

"I don't think she can pull off vibranium like Vision though," Tony quipped.

 

Hermione's brain twitched.

 

"I mean no offense, you are a lovely girl, but I would assume you wouldn't like your skin and the rest of your organs to be made of the strongest metal on earth. Unless you've always wanted to be an indestructible android," Tony added, "in that case we're your guys."

 

"Um..none taken. I don't really fancy the idea of being turned into a robot actually," she said nervously.

 

"No, we wouldn't use vibranium because we have these." Bruce retrieved the same glass vial with the nanotech beads. "This is what I used to heal you, Hermione."

 

"What is that?" Hermione asked. She hovered in front of him her fingers grazing but not touching the vial in Bruce's hand.

 

"Oh, is that the new bio-organic nanotech you've been working on? It's finished?" Helen asked coming back into the room.

 

"Yes, and it worked. It sealed her gunshot wound and repaired the damaged tissue instantly. The inspiration behind it was your regeneration cradle actually."

 

"Hmm...I'm impressed Dr. Banner. You basically created a portable version of the cradle. This could revolutionize emergency medicine in the field." She took the vial and examined the blue microbeads." Just remember to credit me in your foreword should you publish," she smirked.

 

"Oh, you would be coauthor," Bruce said with a wave of his hand, "I was thinking that maybe I could reprogram them to print a body for Hermione. Perhaps you could help me."

 

Helen looked at Hermione and then at Bruce. Handing the vial back to him she said,"there's a difference between printing vibranium, an inorganic matter, versus actual living human cells that form tissue that organize into organs that make up the complex systems to create a functional, living human being. There's a reason why babies are incubated in utero for nine months. There's a reason why it takes a course of two decades to form a fully grown adult. Plus the regeneration cradle prints tissue from existing tissue. It can't build a living body from zero."

 

"You almost built an indestructible murder bot with it," Tony pointed out.

 

"Let me remind you that I was under the influence of the mind stone and you two," she pointed an accusing finger at both Bruce and Tony, "were the ones that created Ultron who put me under the aforementioned mind control. Besides, like I said I did it with vibranium."

 

"What if we stole a cadaver instead? Then we wouldn't have to start with a petri dish. We can peel off the top layer and just bake it in the regeneration cradle until it looks like her," Tony said turning to Bruce completely disregarding what Helen just said. The science bros carried on with their conversation finishing each other's sentences while Helen, Hermione, and Thor watched.

 

Helen looked up silently counted to ten, but lost her patience. "Oh my god! Now we're crossing the line between ethics and science. You will not steal a dead body nor will you use my regeneration cradle. Now will you please shut up so that I can finish the exam?" She glanced at Hermione from the side of her eye, "get out while you can," she warned dryly.

 

"As brilliant as that sounds, magic and technology do not mix. They're often incompatible," Hermione interjected. Hogwarts came to mind, and so did the Weasley's Ford Anglia that went rogue and still prowled the Forbidden Forest.

 

"Even if you were able to successfully create a new body for me how exactly would you transfer my consciousness? That part would still be magic, right? More importantly would I still be a witch in a different body? No one has ever really studied the biological differences between magicals and non-magicals. Supposedly there are no witches or wizards like me here. Magic is important to me, and I don't want to lose that part of myself."

 

"Kid's got a point. Vision was basically Jarvis and Ultron both AI software fused with the mind stone. That's much easier to download into a synthetic body than whatever she is," Tony conceded.

 

Hermione nodded,"there's no bridge between science and magic." That was an unfortunate side effect of the Statute of Secrecy. It enforced the separation of muggle and magical society. Muggle subjects like biology, physics, chemistry, calculus were not taught at schools like Hogwarts. She stopped at very basic maths and grammar after leaving primary school.

 

"No," Thor shook his head in disagreement. "On Asgard they were one in the same. Someone once told me that magic is simply science we don't understand yet." That someone being Jane quoting Arthur C. Clarke. "This could work," he said to Hermione. He seemed much more optimistic about the plan than she was.

 

"I don't know Thor..." Hermione didn't want to get her hopes up again after what happened at the Sanctum Sanctorum.

 

Thor's eyes brightened. "I need to speak with Loki," he said suddenly."If anyone can bridge that gap it would be him." He grabbed Bruce by the shoulders, "Banner, I need the Hulk to beat me within an inch of my life."

 

"Umm...yeah, no. Even if I could, which I can't right now. The Other Guy and I are not on speaking terms. I wouldn't do it. You're my friend. I'm not going purposely hurt you."

 

"But as your friend I'm asking you to fight me," Thor countered.

 

"No! How is that going to help you speak to Loki?" Bruce looked at Thor like he was out of his mind.

 

"When I fought you and Hela, I was able to speak with my father. I was able to access another plane of existence because I was on the brink of death. "

 

"I'm not going to hurt you, Thor!" Bruce protested in what was the most ridiculous argument ever. He shook Thor's hands off him and backed away.

 

"Whatever you do, do it outside away from the compound," Helen said flatly. She didn't even bother looking up as she was still tending to the botched sutures on Tony's side.

 

"You don't have to kill me," Thor reassured him, "you only need to do just enough damage so that it looks like I might die. Just a couple of Hulk smashes," Thor said imitating the Hulk. "Well maybe more than that. I am a god. Since I can't bring Loki back to life, this is the only way for me to contact him."

 

"No, it's not," said Hermione suddenly.  _Find the resurrection stone, it followed you to where you are. The snitch!_

 

"I need to find the snitch!" Hermione exclaimed her face bright from the epiphany.

 

"The what?"

 

"Huh?"

 

"She says that like we should already know what she's talking about."

 

"What's a snitch?"

 

"When I escaped from the Forbidden Forest on the day that I met you, I had followed this golden ball. It's charmed to fly and evade its captors. That's a snitch. It's used in a wizarding game called quidditch and is worth one hundred fifty points if caught and ends the game, but that's not really relevant," Hermione rambled suddenly self conscious when she realized everyone was staring at her. "Anyways, inside of it contained something very special. It was left to my best friend Harry by our late Headmaster."

 

"Was it roughly the size of a golf ball?" Bruce asked.

 

"Yes!" Hermione nodded excitedly, "you found it?"

 

"There was also a small black stone inside it," said Thor.

 

"That's the resurrection stone! You can summon the dead using that."

 

"I still have it. It's in my lab." Bruce got up gesturing them to follow. He wasn't sure about the summoning the dead thing.

 

Hermione merged with Ylva again and followed Thor and Bruce to the laboratory.

 

"Oh no, you are not resurrecting your warmongering homicidal brother!" Tony shouted after them. He hastily pulled on his shirt and hopped off the bed despite Helen's protests.

 

Helen sighed and threw up her hands giving up. "Fine, go," she shooed him with her hand after he had already left.

 

The doors to the laboratory slid open automatically. Bruce pushed through followed by Thor and Hermione.

 

"We found it on the same day of your arrival, Barton speared it with his arrow," Thor explained.

 

"I still have both. I ran some tests that were inconclusive. It's just a rock as far as I know," Bruce said as he reached into the drawer. "I meant to give this back to you, but I had forgotten about it because well, it's unremarkable."

 

Bruce dropped the stone into Thor's hand. Kneeling, he presented the it to Hermione.

 

Hermione couldn't believe it. Harry was right. She examined the stone and identified the clearly etched symbol of the deathly hallows.

 

"What do I do with it?" Thor asked.

 

Hermione assumed her astral form leaving Ylva once again unconscious on the floor. "Concentrate on Loki. Think about how much you want to see him. Then try turning the stone in your hand three times and see what happens." This was all conjecture on Hermione's part. She didn't have an incantation, but magic was about intent after all. She hoped Thor's intent was strong enough to summon Loki.

 

Thor did as he was told and the three of them held their breath collectively. Nothing happened.

 

"It should have worked! The story said that Death instructed the middle brother to turn it in his hand thrice," Hermione recited the tale from memory.

 

"I'm sorry, did you just say you read about this magic stone's resurrecting powers from a fictional story?" Tony asked snidely. He was the last to arrive. He really wasn't in any condition to be outside the infirmary.

 

"Well, it's from a very old, very widely known tale in the magical world. The resurrection stone is one of the three deathly hallows. They're these very powerful objects created by Death himself." Hermione left out the part about it also being a children's bedtime story. "Maybe this is not the real stone," she sighed.

 

Before the disappointment could set in, the stone levitated itself off out Thor's palm. Everyone remained still. Something in the air shifted and the room suddenly felt more crowded. Thor was the first to turn around.

 

"Brother," Loki greeted Thor with a wide smile baring his teeth. "What a surprise."

 


	12. Chapter 12

“Brother, what a surprise,” Loki greeted Thor with a wide smile baring his teeth,“and Bruce,” he nodded in his direction. Before he could say anything else Tony fired his repulsor. The blast went straight through Loki as if he had employed his holographic magic. A large scorch mark was burned into the wall behind him and several glass containers and instruments shattered from the impact.

 

Unfazed by the attack, “Stark, it’s nice to see you again,” he said civilily.

 

“I can’t say the feeling is mutual,” Tony sniped bitterly. His arm frozen in the air poised to attack again.

 

“You know that’s not going to work,” Loki said eyeing Tony’s repulsor. “I’m already dead, which means you cannot exact revenge on whatever grievances you still have against me.”

 

“You threw me out the window.”

 

“That’s the grudge you’ve been holding against me all this time?”

 

“It was 93 stories. I could have died.”

 

“Ah. Right, I always forget. Your mortal bodies are so soft and weak. But you didn’t die, did you?” Loki baited, “move on. You don’t see Banner holding any grudges, right Banner?”

 

Bruce eyed him warily. Even though they fought on the same side last time, they were never sure when his loyalties would shift as it did so often when it benefited him the most. “You didn’t fight back. You can’t hurt us. You don’t have your magic.”

 

“A very astute observation, Banner. Yes, I am dead. You can’t harm me. I can’t harm you.” He raised his hands as if to say he bore no ill intent.

 

Tony finally lowered his weapon, but the scowl remained.

 

Loki’s gaze fell on Hermione. “And what do we have here?” Loki circled Hermione assessing her like a hungry wolf would stalk a lost lamb. Hermione’s arms crossed over her chest feeling uncomfortable under his scrutiny. She tried to hide it by feigning a mask of indifference. But her eyes betrayed her when they instinctively sought out Thor’s. Something Loki noticed right away.

 

“My, my, brother, you certainly have a type, don’t you?” he tsked giving her another lookover. He could tell it unsettled her. “First Sif, then the mortal physicist, and now a witch.”

 

“Hermione, my name is Hermione,” she deadpanned lifting her chin to meet his cold eyes.  _ Were all Asgardians this tall?  _ Maybe she should float a little higher _. _

 

“Loki,” Thor warned. His face darkened, sparks dancing between his fingertips.

 

“What?” Loki asked innocently. “I was merely making an observation. You always seem to be  taken by pretty, empowered, dark haired women.” 

 

Somehow those flattering words coming out of his mouth sounded more like a slight than a compliment to Hermione.

 

Loki turned his attention back to Hermione. “So if she’s a witch, then pray tell, what have you summoned me for? Did you miss me, brother?” 

 

“Of course I missed you,” Thor said gruffly. He was disappointed and did a poor job of hiding it. If he was able to summon Loki using the resurrection stone then it meant that he was really dead and not playing an elaborate trick like he had hoped. “I’ve been mourning you.”

 

Loki was caught off guard by Thor’s blatant honesty for a second but quickly recovered. He was not one for sentiment. Thor on the other hand was so transparent in all matters of the heart. It was almost pathetic watching him watch the girl with such blatant longing.

 

“Surely, there’s more to it than that?”

 

“I need your help,” Hermione piped up.

 

“Oh?” Loki’s mouth formed a faint amused smile. 

 

Not willing to be intimidated she continued,“I had a bit of an accident with a spell, and I’m unable to change back into my human form. Thor said that if anyone could help me, it would be you.”

 

“Yeah, we’ve run into a problem with our plan.” Bruce explained the issue they had. They should theoretically be able to create a body for her using the regeneration cradle, but they were unsure of how to merge the new body with her consciousness. 

 

“Why go through all that trouble with your clumsy Midgardian science when a simple spell would suffice?” 

 

“You know the countercurse?!” Hermione exclaimed. That’s all she needed! “What is it? The countercurse. Tell me.”

 

Loki ignored her.“Theoretically it could work, we would use magic to divorce her soul from her body rendering her original body dead and hope it latches on to the new one you provide her. It would have to succeed on your first try or else she dies. Tell me how many of your experiments worked on the first go?”

 

Both Tony and Bruce scratched their heads mumbling a word that sounded suspiciously like never. 

 

“Science is a process-”

 

“First few tries don’t count-”

 

“Although it would be interesting to see if it does work. I’ve never dabbled in this particular kind of magic. It is quite unsavory and unpredictable even for me. We would need a sacrifice of sorts. Any volunteers or do we have to kidnap someone?” Loki clapped his hands together excited at the promise of illicit, murdery fun.

 

Hermione paled. She liked this idea less and less.“That sounds exactly like how you would create a horcr-”

 

“Wait,” Tony interrupted, “you just want us to try it so that if we succeed you’ll have a way to come back to life. Nuh uh buddy, we’re not falling for that.”

 

Loki laughed, “silly mortal. Magic cannot bring back the dead. If that were possible I would have…” He would have resurrected Frigga, but that went unsaid.  “You can’t cheat death, you imbecile,” Loki said condescendingly.

 

“Name calling? Real mature,” Tony scoffed as he never called anyone but their rightful name.

 

“Oh there are far worse, but more deserving things I can call you, Stark,” Loke spat.

 

Thor stood by with his arms folded and said nothing as the conversation devolved into a shouting match between Loki and Tony with Bruce refereeing. Something he had always noticed was that Loki was completely different to him than he was to other people. He had a side of him that only Thor saw when they were alone.

 

“You asked me for help!” Loki accused. “How desperate must you be to summon me from beyond the grave.”

 

“STOP!” Hermione crossed her arms hotly. “It’s my body. My decision,” she grounded out.

 

All eyes turned to Hermione, whom had been forgotten despite being the subject of the argument.

 

Hermione softened.“Sorry Dr. Banner, I know you mean well,” she said facing Bruce, “and Mr. Stark even though I’ve only just met you. I know you’re all just trying to help, but your plan sounds almost like something out of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. It’s a bit mad.”

 

“That’s what makes it so awesome,” Tony said not understanding her hang up. If only she had been there for Vision’s creation.

 

“The simplest solution is often the best. Fewer things can go wrong that way. I’m a witch,” she took a deep breath, “I should be able to undo the curse with magic. Loki, will you help me, please?”

 

“Well, it appears that the lady has spoken,” Loki said a little too smugly according to Tony anyways.

 

Tony muttered some less than flattering words about Loki. 

 

“But how can we trust you?” Bruce confronted Loki. “How do we know you won’t mislead her or make things worse? Like turn her into a rock or something.”

 

“If I wanted to do that then I’d just let you two play mad scientists and watch. In fact that is a very tempting idea I daresay. See what kind of mangled creature you two create,” Loki said gleefully, “it’ll probably have the sentience of a rock without my help. It doesn’t look like you have a choice, you need me either way.”

 

“Loki is right,” Thor said defending his brother. “ And he’s been known to do the right thing now and again. No tricks?”

 

“No tricks, brother,” Loki held up his hands, “I’d swear on my life, but I’m already dead.”

 

Thor’s gaze moved to Hermione, “what do you say, Hermione?”

 

_ Men. _ She wanted to roll her eyes, she already consented earlier but they had to continue their pissing contest. “Yes, I want to try Loki’s way first.”

 

Bruce elbowed Tony, “okay, I guess I should get you back to Dr. Cho before she kills the both of us.” Bruce turned to Hermione, “know that if this doesn’t work, we’ll still help you. There’s always another solution.”

 

“Spoken like a true scientist,” Tony chimed in. “I’m ready for tacos now.”

 

Everyone rolled their eyes.

 

“Thank you,” she liked Bruce more and more everyday.

 

“Good luck Hermione. Don’t let Loki get under your skin too much.” Bruce looked at Thor and Loki, “play nice. And try not to destroy any more of my laboratory,” he said dragging Tony out the door with him.

 

Once they were gone, Thor turned to Loki. “You’re really going to help her?” Thor asked. Loki rarely did anything that didn’t benefit him in some way.

 

“Sure, why not? I suppose it’s not like I have anything better to do with my time here.”

* * *

 

Loki sighed loudly. Twenty minutes into his return to the realm of the living, and he was already bored. Like in the afterlife, he did not have access to his magic, but at least his lips were not sealed shut. More of a precaution than a punishment, 1500 years of lies and manipulative words earned him the moniker ‘Loki Silvertongue’ and such tongue was more dangerous than his magic at times. 

 

Thor watched him like a hawk. His blue eyes held no warmth and followed his every movement as he coached the stubborn mortal in what was in his opinion a very rudimentary spell. No doubt unhappy with the idea that Loki was in the same plane of existence as Hermione. It meant that he could touch her.

 

Hermione ignored both of them as she muttered the instructions to herself repeating it like a mantra. She studied the runes Loki instructed Thor to draw on the floor around Ylva’s unconscious body. They glowed faintly before fading everytime she tried to activate them. She had never seen these before nor had she ever used runes in spell casting. Her classes only taught runes for the purpose of translating ancient texts. This was her third attempt. Hermione was used to getting spells right the first time. The lionshare of the Gryffindor’s house points were earned through her performance in the classroom, but they were also lost through her, Harry, and Ron’s rule breaking escapades.

 

Loki studied her as she double checked then triple checked her work. This was one of the more powerful mortal mages he had encountered, but he was not about to admit that out loud. Her problem he speculated was that she was too attached to the didactic learning of magic. She seemed studious and meticulous in nature. She probably followed the gospel of magical text and theories to a tee. A technician, but not much of an innovator, it probably got her pretty far, but it will carry her no further. Loki decided a change in tactic was needed. 

 

He stood directly over her. “What is taking so long? I performed this spell when I was eight. I used it to change Thor back when I turned him into a frog.”

 

“Yes. I have not forgotten about that. You kept me in a glass box and impersonated me for two weeks,” Thor groused.

 

At the recollection of the memory the corners of Loki’s mouth ticked up into an unrepentant smile.

 

“Do not listen to him, Hermione. You are doing fine. Take your time.” Thor smiled reassuringly at her.

 

Hermione smiled tensely unable to hide her growing frustration. She didn’t know why the spell was not working. She understood the theory of the spell. It was a version of the spell Remus and Sirius used to expose Peter Pettigrew. 

 

The runes were perfectly drawn because Loki made Thor redraw them three times. For no reason than to mess with Thor. Now the floor was littered with symbols because he drew them with a permanent marker. 

 

The runes should help bolster and channel her magic in the absence of her wand adding a level of precision to her casting so she doesn’t accidentally end up half human and half wolf. “I would have succeeded on my first try if I had my wand,” she huffed defensively.

 

“Wand?” Loki mocked, “what in the name of Odin’s beard would you need that for?”

 

Hermione glared at him. “It helps me channel my magic.”

 

Loki laughed. The sound was sharp and harsh. “You call yourself a witch? You rely on a stick to perform your magic. No wonder you are so woefully helpless.”

 

“Loki!” Thor admonished. Thor didn’t have a problem with Loki needling him. They were brothers after all, but he won’t tolerate him antagonizing Hermione.

 

Loki ignored him instead focusing on the mortal before him. She was getting all riled up and her magic was activating.

 

Hermione’s glare intensified with her anger. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I find those that disparage others are compensating for something else. Where’s your magic?” Hermione taunted. “If it’s so easy for you then just cast the spell yourself so we can be rid of you!” Loki reminded her of Snape. The black hair, pale complexion, his condescending manner of speaking, and most of all he got off on bullying others. If this was how Harry’s occlumency lessons went with Snape then she regretted ever berating him for giving up.

 

“Brother, where do you keep finding these women? She’s even feistier than the last one!” He looked over to Thor who was not amused but very angry.

 

“Loki, I’m warning you.” The strain on his voice meant that his patience was wearing thin.

 

Loki dismissed his warning and continued to goad Hermione. “Have care how you speak to me, mortal. Do I need to remind you of who I am?” He moved until he stood directly in front of her. He angled his neck so he could stare down at her. “I am Loki Odinson born on Jotunheim and Prince of Asgard. I am the God of Mischief and Lies.” His voice grew louder and crueler, “you would be ever so lucky and grateful if I were to waste even a drop of my magic on you. ”

 

“And you think that gives you the right to behave like a right prat bullying and belittling everyone 

around you?” Hermione retorted audaciously. She was wrong in her initial assessment of him. He wasn’t Snape. No, he was much worse. He was Malfoy. 

 

“Why yes. You are a lesser being than I in terms of intelligence, skill, durability. I could go on and expound on all the ways I am superior to you if you like but it would take longer than your short lifespan can afford,” he said casually.

 

“Enough!” Thor intervened. “Hermione ignore him. Loki, you have gone too far,” Thor said sternly pointing a finger at him, “why did you even agree to help us in the first place?”

 

Loki paused thoughtfully before he responded with, “mostly to annoy the tin man of course.” He smiled ferally.

 

“Loki, if you are not going to take this seriously, then we’ll ask for Banner and Stark’s help instead,” Thor threatened. 

 

Loki yawned languidly. “Brother, I will never understand your fascination with mortals. Always coming to their aide. They’re all so fragile, especially when it comes to their enormous egos, which are hilariously disproportionate to their tiny bodies. Even their magic is weak.”

 

Hermione hated the way he casually spoke about her as if she had left the room. If only she had her wand. She would show just how weak her magic was by setting his pompous arse on fire.

 

“You do not know what you are talking about, Loki,” Thor said dangerously as he approached Loki. Ripples of lightning gathered around him creating electrical shortages with the laboratory equipment. “If only you knew of the horrors she has survived. The sacrifices she has made. The dangerous, selfless deeds she has done to save her world. She is a braver soul than you ever were.”

 

Loki snorted derisively. “Bravery is an idiot’s justification for their own stupidity. It’s overrated and does not compensate for weakness. Watch.” He gave her forehead a sharp poke.

 

“Ow! That hurt! You arse!” Hermione screamed rubbing her forehead. Her cheeks colored red with anger and humiliation. Her magic rippled from her feet to the individual strands of her hair. “Are you incapable of behaving civilly for even one minute? Every word out of your mouth has been an insult directed at either me or Thor. You are the most insufferable, arrogant, juvenile, wretched…” she seethed violently as if she was about to explode, “GIT! I’ve ever had the displeasure of meeting!” Hermione practically screeched.

 

“See?” Loki said smugly satisfied by her hysterical outburst. “I barely even touched her. Weak in body and mind,” He was about to poke her again when Thor charged at him.

 

“Don’t you dare touch her again!” Thor snapped and momentarily forgot that Loki was already dead before lunging at him only to pass through him like one of Loki’s illusions. He caught himself before he hit the floor. The lightning intensified crackling and whipping about him destroying the laboratory.

 

“Are you ever not going to fall for that?” Loki rolled his eyes. “I’m dead, you oaf!” 

 

Thor’s expression darkened ominously. “Lay a hand on her again, and I swear I will drag you back from the halls of Hel to the realm of the living just to kill you.”

 

Loki smirked,“hit a nerve have I? My apologies. Only you are allowed to touch her I see.” He looked pointedly at the fading bruises on her neck.

 

Hermione fought the urge to cover them. She will not give him the satisfaction. She stood stock still fuming furiously, her fists clenched at her sides. The magic within her amplified crackling around her as her anger intensified. Neither god paid it any mind too busy with their own feud. She was going to show him. The runes on the floor illuminated drawing on her magical energy.

 

“I thought she was you!” Thor yelled. Not able to hurt Loki, he picked up the nearest piece of furniture and crushed it with his hands.

 

Loki placed a hand on his chest and feigned a gasp.“I am deeply hurt and appalled! Your first thought was to strangle me?” Loki paused, “no, I guess that’s about right.” If the situation was reversed Loki would have stabbed Thor probably without provocation too simply because he loved stabbing Thor. 

 

“Still, you thought I was her? She’s not even a real shapeshifter. She only has two forms and can’t even shift freely between the two,” Loki complained as if Thor’s mistake was a personal attack on his character.

 

“I will not stand here and watch you insult her!” Except Thor could do nothing else. He solved most of his problems by killing them, which was not at all helpful in this situation.

 

Loki knowing that pressed on. “Frankly I’m not entirely convinced that she is even a real witch. So far all she has demonstrated is the same cheap trick employed by that second rate sorcerer.”

 

“LOKI! THAT IS ENOUGH!” Thor unable to throttle him resorted to raising the volume of his voice instead. His eyes turned white and a thunderstorm formed in the middle of the room. In a flash, lightning penetrated the layers of concrete and insulation leaving a gaping hole in the ceiling and struck Thor transforming his plain clothes into armor. The lights flickered off during the surge and the dark room lighted up with Thor, who was glowing with rage. 

 

Not the least bit bothered, Loki continued,“clearly we were not as close as I thought if you can’t tell me apart from some com-.”

 

“BOMBARDA!”

 

A large blast sent Loki flying through the room disappearing through the wall. The storm created by Thor ceased and disappeared as fast as it formed. The backup generators kicked in and the lights came back on. Thor stared mouth gaping at the spot on the wall where Loki vanished.

 

“Loki?”

 

After a few seconds, which felt much longer to Thor, Loki reemerged not looking the least bit slighted. He smirked at Thor and lifted his chin in Hermione’s direction.

 

Thor turned and watched as Ylva transformed. The runes on the ground glowed and lifted the prone body off the floor merging with Hermione’s floating astral form. Her fur receded revealing her pale flesh as her body twisted and shrank until she was Hermione again.

 

Thor caught her before she collapsed to the ground from exhaustion. He sank to his knees holding her unconscious body.

 

“Hermione!” Thor shook her gently. “Banner! I need some help here!” Thor shouted loudly in his panic ladened voice.

 

“Relax, she’s merely fatigued. The spell took a lot of physical stamina because she’s not used to performing magic this way,” Loki said as he crouched down next to Thor.

 

“I thought you said that this was a simple spell!”

 

“It is, but the curse itself was very dark. Whoever cursed her had the most ill intent,” Loki explained, “she had to fight it with all her magic, but she is free of it now. Her magic is remarkably strong.” 

 

Thor raised an eyebrow.

 

“For a human anyways,” Loki said snobbily, “she will recover.” 

 

Thor exhaled in relief at those last three words. “Thank you.”

 

Loki said nothing. He merely nodded. 

 

Bruce had heard a loud crash before the lights shut off. He ran to the laboratory only to find it completely trashed. In the center or the room he found a very smug looking Loki, a very anxious looking Thor, and an unconscious Hermione, who was passed out in his arms.

 

“What the... ” Bruce’s eyes widened at the wreckage that was his laboratory. “What happened?! It looks like a tornado tore through here. I specifically said not to destroy my lab!” His skin turned a light shade of green; a few veins and buttons popped. It looked like he was going to transform into the Hulk to finish the job.

 

Loki tensed reflexily at the sight of an irate Banner fearing what was to come. “Well, I will take my leave now,” Loki said and immediately vanished.

 

“Loki!” Thor shouted in frustration. Even in death he was afraid of the Hulk.

 

Bruce instantly appeared at Thor’s side anger forgotten at the sight of Hermione’s unresponsive form. He checked for a pulse. “She’s alive,” Bruce said breathing out a sigh of relief. “Thor, this is the second time I’ve found her unconscious in your arms,” Bruce chastised lightly.

 

Thor ignored him and hugged her closer to his chest. “She did it. She broke the curse,” he said smoothing his hand through her hair. It was thick like her fur.

 

“Loki actually helped?”

 

“In his own way.” He looked down at her adoringly, “in the end, she did it all on her own.”

 

“She couldn’t do that without destroying my lab?” Bruce muttered.

 

“Oh no, that was all me. Loki and I were fighting,” Thor confessed easily, “I got a little carried away.”

 

“There’s a hole in the- nevermind.” Bruce clenched his fists and took a deep breath and let it go. This was where being friends with a billionaire was helpful. This was Tony’s house after all. 

 

Bruce removed his glasses and pinched his nose, “you need to take better care of her,” he said once he saw how young she was. She seemed ageless when she floated around like a ghost, but now that Bruce had seen her in the flesh, he guessed that she was in  her late teens. She was just a kid really.“Let’s get her back to the infirmary and run some tests just in case.”

 

* * *

 

The chill from the room roused Hermione from her sleep. She cracked opened an eye. It was dark. Her nose picked up the familiar, sharp bleach scent, and she knew exactly where she was. She felt extremely cold having grown accustomed to her thick fur coat, which was missing. All she had was a thin blanket to ward off the cold from the infirmary, which was kept at a lower temperature than the rest of the compound to stem the spread of nosocomial infections.

 

“Shh…” Thor hushed as he gently stroked her hair. “Go back to sleep. It’s not yet morning,” Thor whispered.

 

Hermione groaned, “what happened?” She remembered the altercation with Loki, but everything else that followed was a little fuzzy.

 

Thor raised his eyebrows. “You don’t remember?” he asked surprised. “You broke the curse.”

 

“I did?” Hermione asked sleepily. She opened both her eyes so she could see Thor fully.

 

“Yes, you did.” Thor smiled proudly at her.

 

“This isn’t a dream? I’m not actually still in the astral plane?”

 

“No, this is very real,” Thor assured her. He gently cupped her face stroking her cheek with his thumb. He marveled at how soft and supple her skin was in contrast to his. He loved that about mortals. Asgardian tissue was much harder and denser. 

 

She had finally done it, but she had a feeling that this was but one of the many hurdles waiting for her to tick off as she navigated her post war life.

 

“Where is everyone?”

 

“On a quinjet somewhere. Feasting on tacos. How do you feel?”

 

“I don’t know, strange, a bit let down I guess.”

 

“Why do you say that?” A confused expression came over his face. He had thought she would be overjoyed.

 

“Well, the whole transformation was a bit anticlimactic really compared to your row with Loki,” she smiled cheekily.

 

Thor laughed. “I must apologize, we did not mean to as the Midgardians say ‘steal your thunder.’”

 

Hermione giggled, “are you know the God of Thunder?” she asked coyly. “If anything I should have asked earlier if I could borrow yours, you know for my big moment.” 

 

Thor hung his head his body shook with mirthful laughter. Shaking his head, “I ought to spank you for your cheek.”

 

“Speaking of properly whipped arses, where’s Loki?”

 

“He’s probably floating around here somewhere,” Thor smirked, “hiding from you.”  _ And Banner. _ “I would imagine. You hit him pretty hard with some very powerful magic.”

 

“He deserved it,” Hermione said smugly as she stretched herself languidly over the length of the bed. It felt strange to be in her human body after all this time. She leaned into his touch rubbing her cheek contently into his hand. He was warm, and she felt tempted to crawl on top of him.

 

Thor chuckled, “I don’t disagree.” He wondered if some of her lupine instincts stuck with her through the transformation as he watched her nuzzled his hand affectionately. He supposed he need not worry about it unless she continued to eat raw meat and chase rabbits.

 

Hermione shivered and pulled away from him. Turning from him she wrapped the thin blanket around her tightly.

 

“What’s the matter?” Thor frowned when she rolled away from him.

 

“Nothing. I’m just cold. Bloody hospitals. Always so damn cold.” She closed her eyes and pressed her mouth into the pillow muffling her yawn.

 

Thor rubbed her back tenderly. She wasn’t wearing much when she changed back just the white dress, which was much more transparent against her solid flesh. It was much less substantial than a coat of fur, not to mention much too distracting and tempting for Thor. Standing, he unclasped his red cloak and draped it over her. He was still dressed in his battle attire from earlier. 

 

“Thank you.” Hermione smiled and cocooned herself in the thick, heavy material. It smelled exactly like him.

 

Thor chuckled,“better?”

 

“Mmhmm,” she practically purred. She shifted over on the bed, an unspoken invitation.

 

Thor stripped off his heavy outer armor and boots leaving him in just his well worn trousers. The bed dipped as Thor climbed in next to her. She was surprised the whole thing didn’t collapse or tip over from his tremendous weight.

 

He carefully pulled her on top of him. It was the only way they were both going to fit on the bed. Regular size to Hermione, but tiny for Thor. He marveled at the size difference. She felt much smaller in his arms as a human. 

 

“What happened here?” a frown marred his face as he lifted her forearm tracing his thumb on the raised edges of the scar. They were faded and pale and not noticeable when she was in her astral form. Both him and Bruce had noticed it before and were disturbed by it. He did not know what the term mudblood meant, but it seemed ugly and unseemly on such a beautiful creature.

 

“Who did this to you?” Images of her being held down as the words were carved into her flesh assaulted him. His blood boiled hotly. His anger transparent on his face as he always expressed his emotions openly and intensely.

 

She tensed and withdrew her arm. His eyes hardened the more he stared at it. She quickly tucked her arm out of view. Thor’s anger no matter whom he directed it at was terrifying and something she did not wish to see again.

 

She swallowed nervously unsure of how much to tell him, “I was in a war remember?”

 

“Yes, but you didn’t mention this before.”

 

Hermione bit her lip and tucked herself under his chin wanting hide from his gaze. There were some things she deliberately withheld from Thor when she told him about her involvement in the second wizarding war such as erasing her parents’ memories, everything that happened at Malfoy Manor, the degrading details of her captivity, and the gruesome execution she narrowly escaped from.  “We were captured by the enemy. She wanted me to confess to something that I knew nothing about,” she said quietly.

 

“You were tortured?” Thor’s voice was low and dangerous. She felt his rage rumbling in his chest beneath her. She hesitated, and he grasped her chin and forced her to look at him.

 

“Yes,” she finally answered. There was no use in lying to him. “She used this spell that inflicts unimaginable pain on the victim. Some of them go mad, like my friend’s parents. It’s one of the three illegal spells called the unforgivables. Anyone who uses it is sent to prison.” Hermione took deep breath before continuing,  “she didn’t think that was enough so she took a dagger and carved the word ‘mudblood’ into my arm. That way I would never forget what I am.” Her voice broke as she confessed that last bit. An unbidden tear escaped from the corner of her eye that Thor brushed away with his thumb.

 

She saw pity beneath his visage of anger. Bellatrix took away her power when she used the cruciatus on her. Then she did it again when she cursed her and trapped her in the body of an animal. She never wanted to be that weak or helpless ever again. 

 

He could sense her reluctance to speak further on the matter, but Thor never knew when to leave things alone. “Who did this to you?” he repeated.

 

Hermione wiped the tears away with the back of her hand.“The same woman that cursed me. Her name was Bellatrix Lestrange. She was Voldemort’s most devout follower. Thor, you’re squeezing me too tight,” Hermione said breathlessly as she pushed against him. It was like pushing against a concrete wall.

 

“Sorry,” he snapped out of his quiet rage and immediately loosened his hold. He was previously preoccupied with the logistics of traversing a billion universes just to hunt down this Bellatrix Lestrange and killing her in the most painful way possible. He decided on a combination of dismemberment and flaying. Snapping out of his violently satisfying daydream, he asked “what does it mean?”

 

“Exactly what it sounds like, dirty blood.”

 

Thor’s eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. He almost looked offended when he said, “but there is nothing impure about you.” 

 

Hermione blushed. “Mudblood is a derogatory term for a muggleborn or a witch or wizard born to non-magical families,” she explained as she shifted in his arms into a more comfortable position. “Some wizards and witches believe them to have tainted muggle blood and inferior to ones that can trace their lineage back generations of witches and wizards. They were purebloods. Not all of them were like that, but the ones that believed in that idea followed Voldemort because he promised to eradicate muggleborns and eventually muggles altogether.”

 

“Your parents could not do magic?” Thor asked in disbelief. Odin was one of the most powerful beings in the universe, and his birth mother was an Elder God. His strength and power are a product of his heritage, but this extraordinary girl in his arms came from very ordinary human beings. It confounded him.

 

Hermione shook her head no. “Throughout the war muggleborns were rounded up and killed. The day I met you was also my execution day.” She decided to leave out the part about the ritualized rape and slaughter.

 

“They were going to kill you all because your parents could not do magic.” Thor had to actively tamp down the rage that boiled underneath his skin. If he was not careful he could electrocute her.

 

She nodded against his chest, “the Ministry and Voldemort made it clear that there was no place for us in their society.”

 

Thor said nothing still quietly processing everything she had just revealed. She was too young to have experienced the frontlines of war. The scars she carried will forever remind her of the ugliness and the cruelty of the society that rejected her. The same world she had tried to save from that evil wizard.

 

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and lazily stroked her back. “Your society got it all backwards. They were terribly mistaken.” He angled his head to look down at her. “The way I see it, you should have been celebrated like the miracle that you were.” He brushed away her wild hair tucking behind her ear so she could not hide. “A magical girl born from non magicals?” Taking his other hand he tilted her chin up at him, “that’s special. You’re special. Don’t ever forget that.”

 

Hermione’s mouth curved into a soft smile. Touched by his words, her eyes were suddenly wet with tears again. Thor was the most sincere and earnest person she had ever met. He seemed incapable of telling lie, so in that moment she believed him.

  
  
  



	13. Chapter 13

"Ahem," Tony cleared his throat loudly.

 

Thor opened his eyes first. It was morning now. He looked beyond Hermione's mass of hair to see Bruce and Tony standing at the foot of the bed. Bruce was clearly uncomfortable. He looked at everything in the room, but the two sleepy individuals on the bed. Tony wore his normal haughty expression as well as new clean clothes. He had also showered and shaved, so his overall appearance was an improvement from yesterday.

 

"Sorry to wake you but your brother is haunting the compound and we need you to send him back to hell or wherever he came from."

 

Thor carefully sat up bringing Hermione with him. The movement woke her. Wrapping her arms tighter around Thor's neck, she let him settle her into his lap while her head flopped back onto his shoulder drifting back to sleep.

 

"Morning sleeping beauty," Tony barked in her ear.

 

Hermione jolted awake realizing that they weren't alone. She would have toppled over the side had Thor not secured his hands around her waist. Blushing furiously she quickly extricated herself from Thor's grasp choosing to stand with her bare feet on the cold tile floor instead of sitting on his lap. She mumbled a 'good morning' and tightened Thor's cape around herself and tried to put as much distance between her and Thor as possible.

 

"As I was saying, I need you to deal with your brother," Tony said dryly. "He's wreaking havoc on the compound. Dead or alive, your brother is a fucking pain in the ass. Get rid of him."

 

Thor laughed heartily. "Loki is the God of Mischief," he said fondly, "I don't see why that would change now that he is dead. Consider it done." Thor reached for his discarded clothes. "I need to speak with him anyways." He stood and dressed himself.

 

"I don't know if this will help." Bruce handed the resurrection stone to Thor. "You left this on the floor of my laboratory, or what's left of it anyways." There was a hint of passive aggressiveness behind his comment.

 

Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth. She was horrified. "I'm so sorry Dr. Banner! I didn't mean to destroy your laboratory!" she apologized as if she had been caught trashing one of her professor's classrooms at Hogwarts.

 

"It's not your fault Hermione. I'm not mad at you," Bruce reassured her while looking directly at Thor, "while you deal with Loki, Hermione, you have a few appointments today."

 

"I'm sorry, what?"

 

There was knock on the door. It was a slightly frazzled Dr. Cho. She carried a cup of coffee in one hand while balancing a tablet in the other. "Sorry, I was running late this morning. And you're all here," Helen said half surprised and half annoyed when she saw that her patient was not alone.

 

"Cho, I'm surprise you're awake and standing. You were pounding back those cervezas pretty hard last night. You have a remarkably high tolerance for your you know," Tony gestured at her, "genetic makeup."

 

Dr. Cho glared at him, "I didn't want to go along, but you refused to let me finish your examination here." She had tagged along on the quinjet for their impromptu outing to the west coast in order to finish the exam. Then she was stuck with Tony on the way back.

 

"Hermione, you remember Dr. Helen Cho," Bruce said amicably.

 

Dr. Cho gave a small nod setting down her coffee. "Hello Hermione, I'll be conducting your exams."

 

Hermione grimaced, "is that really necessary?" She was tired of all the medical exams. She can't seem to escape the infirmary for long.

 

"I'm afraid so. I need to do a full medical workup. Thor informed me that you were a prisoner of war. That you've been surviving in the wild in the body of an animal. Not to mention you're from.." Helen didn't know what to say exactly. She was from their world but not. "We may need to vaccinate you, so that you won't get sick while you're here. Then we'll have our attending psychiatrist do a psych eval. This is standard procedure that all members of the Avengers undergo."

 

Bruce and Tony both nodded.

 

"Yeah, my appointment is right before yours," said Tony.

 

"I saw her every week when I got back to Earth," Bruce added.

 

"Gentlemen, I assure you that she's in very capable hands." She decided she didn't want another episode like yesterday and waited for them to leave. Plus, it was a full physical, so Hermione was going to have to disrobe and gown up. "So please leave. Now."

 

"Hmm...I think she wants us to leave…You heard the lady doctor," Tony casually hit Thor's bicep with the back of his hand. "Let's go big guy. You too big guy," he said pointing to Bruce. "What are we going to do about him anyways? You guys have an argument or something?" He slung his arm around Bruce.

 

Hermione was about to shrug off Thor's cape and return it to him, but he stopped her and tugged it close to protect her modesty. "Keep that on," he winked. Thor didn't want her exposing herself to Tony or Bruce or anyone really. She didn't have anything else to wear other than the revealing dress underneath.

 

Hermione tucked her chin trying to hide her red cheeks while the three left.

 

"So, you and Thor.." Helen said with a tight smile.

* * *

 

"Hermione. She's a little young don't you think, Thor?" Bruce said once they were a safe distance away from the infirmary.

 

"She's at least eighteen, right?" Tony whispered to Thor.

 

"Indeed, she is very young. She is nineteen years of age. Then again all of you are very young also," Thor said not understanding their concern. "You're all children compared to Asgardians."

 

"It's just…" Bruce wouldn't normally comment on things that were none of his concern, but he developed a bit of a soft spot for the girl and was concerned about her. She was a young girl stranded in their world alone only knowing Thor. He had all the respect in the universe for his friend, but Thor could be flighty at times. She didn't need a paramour; she needed parents. Someone to look after her. Make sure she finished school. "You're kind of robbing the cradle there, Thor." Metaphors and euphemisms were great for saying uncomfortable things, and Bruce was very uncomfortable expressing his reservations of the obvious romantic affections between Hermione and Thor.

 

"Sorry?" Thor asked confused not familiar with the saying, "I haven't stolen anything. Least of all a cradle. What would I need that for?"

"Pfft Thor's like a million years old, he'd be cradle robbing in every scenario unless he was dating a planet."

 

"No," Thor shuddered, "never again."

 

Bruce and Tony stopped abruptly and stared at him.

 

"In my youth I had a dalliance with a celestial that ended badly. She trapped me on her planet for a century," Thor clarified.

 

The response Thor got was a mixture of horrified and scientific intrigue. No doubt their minds were working out the detailed mechanics of sex between a humanoid god and a planet.

 

"Who Thor dates is none of our business," Steve chimed in diplomatically.

 

The three of them turned around surprised to see Steve standing there behind them.

 

"Hello Tony, it's good to see you again," Steve greeted with a nod of his head.

 

"Cap," Tony acknowledged stiffly. He crossed his arms over his chest, "you missed taco night." Tony's first line of defense was deflecting.

 

"That's what you're mad about?" Steve looked at him skeptically. "That I missed dinner with you last night? I didn't exactly get an invitation," Steve said flatly. This was the first time Steve had seen Tony in over two years. Tony's petty remarks made it feel like they were meeting again for the first time.

 

Tony scoffed,"well, yeah, you missed my welcome back party. Your invite probably got lost in the mail what with you being a wanted war criminal now and being constantly on the run. Or maybe you misplaced it along with your razor."

 

"You knew exactly how to find me," Steve said calmly.

 

"You mean that flip phone you gave me? It died of old age before I could use it." That was a lie, and they both knew it since Bruce used it to contact Steve to alert him of Thanos' impending arrival.

 

Steve hung his head rubbing the space between his eyes, "you're being ridiculous, Tony."

 

"You know what else is ridiculous? That beard," Tony shot back, "you look like a... handsome unabomber or a very attractive yeti."

 

Steve folded his arms across his chest and sighed, "are you done?"

 

"Not even close."

 

Bruce and Thor looked at each other.

 

"Clearly you two have some grievances with each other that need to be worked out, "Thor stated the obvious hoping to cut the tension. "Well I need to see Loki, but I don't know where he is." As much as Thor loved a good fight, he needed to see his brother.

 

"I'll show you where we last saw him," Bruce offered. They left the two at a standoff. Neither of them were armed, but just in case they did decide to battle it out Bruce told the AI to seal off the area and warn everyone away.

* * *

 

Helen gave Hermione a clean bill of health. She was disturbed by the scars on her body, but nothing could be done about that. As far as she could tell there was no lasting damage beneath the surface, but Hermione had told her that the scars were inflicted by magic. Something Helen had no experience with.

 

She thought the girl could stand to gain some weight, but she was not nearly as underweight and malnourished as she had expected her to be. She attributed that to Thor taking care of her the last few months. Hermione was not very forthcoming with her wartime experience, but that was to be expected.

 

Helen escorted Hermione down the corridor where the psychiatrist held her office hours.

 

"I just need you come back for the booster shots in a month, and if you ever need anything my door is always open."

 

"Thank you Dr. Cho."

 

Helen smiled and left Hermione in the waiting room.

 

Eager to do magic again, she was focusing on conjuring one of her blue bell flames when Clint walked up to her.

 

"Hey kiddo, you ran out on me before you could try this."

 

Hermione looked up to see Clint holding a tray of food. The news of her transformation seemed to have gotten around really quickly.

 

"I bet you're hungry." He balanced the tray on the armrests of her chair and lifted the cloche revealing the stew he made two days ago. "Stews always taste better the next day anyways." He plopped down in the seat next to her.

 

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully. It smelled wonderful. Spooning it into her mouth she tasted the gamy rabbit, the earthy root vegetables, the acidity of the wine, and the herbs. "Oh wow," she exclaimed placing a hand over her mouth, "it's really delicious," she said in between bites.

 

Clint took in the compliments with a self-satisfied smile. He tore off a piece of the bread on the tray and dunked it in the stew before popping it into his mouth, "yeah, this is the last of it. I saved it for you. When the rest of the compound realized there was home cooked food, they descended like a bunch of savages."

 

Hermione giggled, "I'm glad none of it went to waste. Especially since you had to kill a rabbit for me." She made a sad smile.

 

Clint made a face. "Yeah, I'm not doing that again. I've killed A LOT. Not to brag, but my body count is," Clint squinted his eyes as he mentally counted his kills, but gave up after a minute, "it's a respectable number for my years of service. I never miss," he grinned. "But killing bad guys is a hell of a lot easier than killing innocent rabbits. I'll tell you that much. I had been sitting there hiding behind the bushes with my arrow notched and aimed for a good half hour before you showed up," Clint spoke animatedly.

 

That confirmed a few suspicions Hermione had about Clint.

 

The door to the office opened, and Tony stepped out chatting with the doctor followed by a weary looking Steve.

 

"I think that went well," Tony said nodding to Steve and the doctor. "That was good, for the both of us. Cathartic even." He tapped Steve on the chest. "I think the healing can finally begin now. I'm ready," Tony said pumping himself up a bit.  _Now that the murderous cunt Barnes was dead_. Tony thought that maybe in time, he can forgive Steve for Siberia."See you again next week doc?"

 

"Yes, good work. Both of you. I'll see you both again next week," the exasperated doctor said half heartedly.

 

"Katniss! What are you doing here?" Tony saw Clint scowl as he gathered the empty tray from Hermione. "Maybe Clint can join us in our next session?" Tony suggested. "Clint, you remember Dr. Donna Blake?"

 

Clint gave a small wave, "hey Dr. Blake, how's it going?" He was well acquainted with the psychiatrist because it took nearly two years of therapy to move past that mind control episode with Loki.

 

"I felt betrayed by him too," Tony stage whispered to her, "it all started when I found out about his secret family."

 

Dr. Blake rubbed her temples and forced a smile, "just make an appointment with my assistant Katy on your way out."

 

"Let's not take too much more of Dr. Blake's time," Steve said clapping his hand on Tony's shoulder trying to move him along. "I'm sure she has a busy schedule today," he said nodding at Hermione. "Hi," he greeted with a reassuring smile.

 

Clint tapped Hermione on the shoulder, "good luck. Not that you need any...It's not like a test or anything. Just be as open and honest as you can," Clint said as he followed Steve and Tony out of the waiting area.

 

Once they were gone a relieved Dr. Blake turned to Hermione and smiled, "you must be Hermione, I'm Dr. Donna Blake," she said offering her hand.

 

"Hi," Hermione said standing to shake her hand. She honestly didn't know what to expect, and she was a little nervous.

 

"Come on in," Dr. Blake held the door opened for her.

* * *

Thor rubbed the resurrection stone between his thumb and forefinger. "Loki, show yourself," he commanded.

 

Loki wanted to stay put in his hiding place just to annoy Thor, but he felt the pull from the stone and the magic forced him to reveal himself.

 

"Loki," Thor greeted.

 

"Brother, I have no magic," Loki said preemptively, "I cannot harm anyone. I cannot play tricks on anyone."

 

"We both know the last part is not true."

 

Loki smiled mischievously. "You're right, but I wouldn't bother with that," Loki said gesturing toward the stone, "I'm not long for this world anyways."

 

"I wasn't going to send you away," Thor said tucking the stone into his pocket. "What do you mean by that?"

 

"The dead do not belong with living." Everyone knew that.

 

"How much time do we have?" Thor asked. He was rather disappointed. Obviously, he wanted him to stay. He took Loki for granted because he thought he would always be there. They were brothers after all.

 

Loki shrugged, "I do not know. I have been feeling the pull from beyond the veil since I arrived here. It's an unnatural feeling."

 

Thor tilted his head,"how are mother and father?"

 

Loki inhaled deeply and forced a smile. He was not allowed in the same plane as Frigga and Odin. "They're wonderful. More in love than before. And they miss you terribly," Loki lied effortlessly.

 

Thor's eyes narrowed not quite believing him, but he let it go. "Loki, what were you thinking? Why did you do it?"

 

"Do what?"

 

"Don't play dumb," Thor growled. "It doesn't suit you. You know very well what you did."

 

"You mean using the tesseract to barter for your life? You're welcome by the way," he said coolly.

 

"Why did you have it in the first place?!"

 

"I took it from the vault when I was dropping Surtur's crown on the Eternal Flame," Loki said as if he had picked it up while casually running an errand.

 

"You should have left it where it was!"

 

"You think it would have been destroyed along with Asgard? That our people would have been spared? Think again. Thanos would have gotten his hands on it no matter what. It's an Infinity Stone, it cannot be destroyed. Not like that anyways. It bought me enough time to save your life." He had been planning to use it to bargain for his own life, but then Thanos had to threaten him with Thor's, so he changed his mind. Loki sighed.  _When did I get so soft?_

 

"What about our people? That stone led him to us!"

 

"The end result would have been the same," Loki waved his hand dismissively. "We would have lost our people no matter what. Thanos is...He's a juggernaut. Even before he acquired the stones. He kills indiscriminately. He has a large and powerful army at his command. Now that he has all six of the infinity stones, he's unstoppable."

 

"I know that," Thor grunted bitterly. The pain of that defeat followed him like an open wound.

 

Loki couldn't relate to that burden. He only cared for a few people outside of himself. One of them was standing in front of him. Thor coming to the rescue was expected. Him showing up at the bifrost with a large ship and band of Sakaar's gladiators was a surprise.

 

Thor shook his head. "I thought I could defy the prophecy and save our people."

 

"Civilizations rise and fall all the time, brother," Loki shrugged. "We're 1500 years old. Think of how many civilizations have risen and fallen here on Midgard alone."

 

"How can you be so callous? They were your people too!" Thor scolded.

 

"You forget that I was picked up as a souvenir by Odin from a frozen planet as a babe," Loki responded dryly.

 

"Yes! You were abandoned and left to die and our father rescued you and raised you as his own son. As a Prince of Asgard. We were a family."

 

"On the surface maybe. The royal family of Asgard," Loki mocked, "our dear father imprisoned our sister, whom we didn't even know about until she arrived moments after his death ready to kill us."

 

Thor was silent for a while then he started laughing.

 

Amused by the outburst, Loki asked,"what's so funny?"

 

"Just... how fucked up we are," Thor said using the Earth vernacular he picked up.

 

Loki's mouth twitched into a reluctant smile before opening wide and full of laughter.

 

"I mean how many times have you tried to kill me?"

 

"I've wanted to kill you since we were eight!"

 

"I'll never forget that. You ruined my love for snakes... "

 

"And here I thought I was the only deranged one in the family! Our whole family is made up of liars and murderers, but I'm the only one honest about it." For the God of Lies, Loki was surprisingly true to himself through and through. Unhindered by pesky morality, Loki never pretended to be anything else unless he was playing a trick. He never apologized either for his words or his actions. His tongue was as sharp as his wit.

 

"Except for mother," Thor spoke in between bouts of laughter.

 

"Yes, mother is perfect," Loki agreed with a genuine smile, "I don't know why she loved us as much as she did."

 

A comfortable silence followed as they quieted down.

 

"You're still my brother," Loki smirked.

 

"Always," Thor grinned.

* * *

Hermione's psychiatric evaluation ended a little earlier than expected. She told her the bare minimum. She was a witch. She was in a war. Dr. Blake understood that she was not ready to speak further, but encouraged her to make a follow up appointment, which was what she was doing when Pepper happened upon her.

 

"Hermione Granger?"

 

Hermione turned around to greet the strawberry blonde woman.

 

"I'm Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries." She extended her free hand to shake Hermione's.

 

"Hello," Hermione greeted. It seemed like she was meeting everyone today.

 

In Pepper's other arm was a bag and a folder. "I have a change of clothes for you and some identification. If you'll follow me, I'll show you where you'll be staying."

 

For the past week Hermione had been staying in the infirmary under Bruce's watchful eye. She hadn't any time to herself to think about her next step, but it seemed like the Avengers or whatever they called themselves were making those decisions for her.

 

Hermione followed Pepper. She had the gait of a very busy woman, her heels clicking against the smooth tile floor at a brisk pace. Hermione almost had to break into a jog to keep up.

 

"I trust Thor has told you about us," Pepper said breaking the silence. "The Avengers initiative, Stark Industries assumed the role of SHIELD once it had collapsed," she explained.

 

"Um... yes, Thor told me about the Avengers." It was like the Order of the Phoenix, but with more money and resources. "They are a team of superheroes."

 

"You could say that," Pepper beamed. "And Thor is a very important part of the team. Maybe you'll be a part of the team someday," Pepper said encouragingly.

 

Hermione didn't know how to respond. Did they expect her to join them?

 

"This is your room. Tony insisted that you share Thor's, but I thought you would want your own space." Pepper smiled. "He's just down the hall from you though."

 

Her own room she thought. They were expecting her to stay. She didn't know how to feel about that.

 

"This was all I was able to find on such short notice," Pepper said handing her the bag full of clothes. "I hope they fit. We'll have to take you shopping for your own clothes soon, but these will have to do for now."

 

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully. She didn't care about the style or fit. Anything was better than the dress she was wearing right now.

 

"I also have your papers." Pepper handed her a folder with a birth certificate, passport, identification. "And this phone. It has all our numbers already programmed into it as well as a bunch of useful apps. You're an official resident of our world now."

 

Hermione held the papers and the phone in her hand suddenly feeling very homesick.

 

"There's something else I need to speak to you about."

 

Hermione looked up expectantly at the older woman.

 

"Why don't you take a seat," Pepper suggested as she grabbed chair from the desk. Hermione sat down on the edge of the bed across from Pepper.

 

"Two days ago, Bruce had contacted me asking me to search for the whereabouts of your parents."

 

"That's not necessary anymore," Hermione quickly interjected.

 

"Except, we did find them."

 

"What?" Hermione said in disbelief, "that's impossible."

 

"Because you're in a different universe or because their names are actually Jean Ophelia Granger nee Wilkins and Jonathan Lloyd Granger? There wasn't a Monica and Wendell Wilkins, at least not one with a daughter."

 

"That's because I erased my parent's memories, gave them new identities, and sent them to Australia away from the war," Hermione explained. "It was the only way to keep them safe. They don't..They don't have magic like me."

 

Pepper sensed the uneasiness in her voice. "It's okay," she reassured her. "You don't need to explain yourself." Pepper waved her hand and a screen popped up with a picture of her parents and a young girl that Hermione instantly recognized. "Neither did she, Hermione Jean Granger. She didn't have magic either."

 

Staring back at her was a black and white picture of her around age nine. "Where did you get that?"

 

"It's public record. That was taken from a newspaper clipping."

 

"You mean..."

 

"That there was a girl named Hermione Granger in this world also." Pepper made a motion and the screen loaded a new page. "She was the daughter of Dr. Ophelia Granger, a professor of physics at King's College London and Dr. Jonathan Granger, a cardiologist."

 

"That's me?"

 

"No, well..not exactly." Pepper took a deep breath before continuing, "this picture was taken before her death on December 21, 1988 during a terrorist attack at Southbank Winter Market where a driver drove a semi truck into the crowded market." Pepper tucked a stray hair behind her ear before continuing, "we were able to get an autopsy sample, which we compared to the blood sample that Bruce took from you while you were his patient."

 

"Because you thought I was lying," Hermione cut in, "that I wasn't really from another universe."

 

Pepper didn't deny this. "We had to be sure that you weren't…."  _pulling an Anastasia as Tony put it,_  "the same person. And you are not. There was a small difference in your DNA sequence, but it was enough for it to be statistically significant."

 

"My magic."

 

Pepper nodded, "yes."

 

"So my parents…"

 

Pepper looked down. "Dr. Jean Granger died in the same terrorist attack. Dr. Jonathan Granger moved to Bristol and set up a private practice. He remarried five years later, but he disappeared during the.."

 

"Thor told me about that. The calamity that erased half of the universe."

 

"Yes." Pepper's eyes casted downward. "We lost many of our own that day."

 

Hermione wondered if the room she was sitting in belonged to one of the Avengers that disintegrated. The clothes she held in her hand probably belonged to one of them. "Why are you telling me this?"

 

Pepper gave an earnest look. "Because I thought you should know. It's your right to know. I know this has been very overwhelming for you, but just take it one day at a time. Eventually, you'll find your normal again."

 

"Why are you helping me?" Hermione tried to keep the cynicism out of her voice, but her question came out a bit defensive and suspicious.

 

"You're very important to Thor. He's lost a lot. More than anyone."

 

Hermione felt self conscious all the sudden. She looked away as if she didn't know what Pepper was talking about and missed the small smile that graced the other woman's face.

 

"There's an ease about him ever since he came back with you. Like something heavy has been lifted from his shoulders. We think it's because of you. So of course we want you to stay." Pepper smiled hopefully.

 

But the problem was that Hermione didn't know if she wanted to.


	14. Chapter 14

Pepper had to go back to work, so she left Hermione to settle in and get acquainted with her new accommodations. The first thing Hermione did was take a long hot shower that was fitted with seven shower heads. Everything had a touchpad or was voice activated. Something she was unaccustomed to. Despite being the daughter of two well to do Dentists, she had never lived in this level of luxury. She could have ended up in a worse place that was for sure. 

 

Her room was not just a room, but a full suite with a sitting area, small partitioned study, entertainment system, ensuite bathroom straight out of a five star hotel, and the largest bed she had ever lain on. 

 

Fully cleaned and dressed, Hermione discarded the white dress in the small rubbish bin. She carefully folded up Thor’s cape and hugged it to her chest. She couldn’t help but smile when she caught the scent of sea and leather, which of course triggered the thought of Thor. She suddenly wanted to see him. Hermione walked out of her room with the intent of finding him and returning his cape when she ran into a lurking Tony.

 

“Sabrina! Over here.”   
  


Hermione looked around before realizing Tony was talking to her.

 

“I’ve been calling your name for the last ten minutes.” Not really. Tony was just being a diva.

 

“But my name is Hermione.”

 

“Sabrina, the teenage witch,” Tony repeated. “Pepper said you grew up in the nineties. Are you not a teenage witch?” He thought it was clever.

 

Hermione narrowed her eyes.“You don’t know how to say my name.”

 

“Yes, I do,” Tony said defensively.

 

“Say it,” Hermione challenged.

 

“Her..money.”

 

Hermione frowned.

 

“Can’t I just give you a nickname?” Tony whined. “ Like Hermes. The bag of course not the hilarious bureaucrat from Futurama. It’ll be our little thing.”

 

Hermione looked at him dubiously. “I don’t think we have that type of relationship. I barely know you. You can just call me by my surname. Granger. I trust you can manage that.”

 

“You’re no fun,” Tony pouted.“Well, good thing I’m taking you shopping then. Bruce’s suggested we get you some new clothes.” Bruce had seen his share of disasters both natural and manmade. It had been an overwhelming year for her. The war, imprisonment, the curse, landing in an alternate universe. He had prattled on about Hermione being a refugee and needing possessions to call her own feel safe and normal again. “Plenty of time to get to know each other.” Tony didn’t care about any of that of course. He was suspicious of her and wanted to suss her out himself.

 

“Is Dr. Banner coming?” Hermione asked hopefully.

 

“Pfft..No, he’s too busy trying to salvage his data from the wreckage. Months and months of experiments all destroyed. Poor guy.”

 

Hermione cringed realizing she had a small part in its destruction. “Maybe I should help him clean up. It was my fault...”

 

“Nope, you’re not getting out of this. I can’t have you walking about in some dead Avenger’s clothes. People might think we’re broke,” he gasped. Tony’s disappearance had been widely publicized. Pepper did an excellent job at keeping the company going in his absence, but Tony knew image was everything. The Avengers were half of what they were, and he didn’t need their enemies, known and unknown, thinking they had a shot at taking them down.

 

Hermione looked down at her outfit. It was not clothing she would choose for herself. The red leather blazer was a bit much even if she was a proud Gryffindor. 

 

“So are you ready to go or what?”

 

“I just thought it would be Ms. Potts or Romanov that takes me shopping for clothes.”

 

“Ha!” Tony laughed. “Pepper is too busy running Stark Industries. I wouldn’t trust Romanov with your wardrobe. Or with anything actually she’s a spy that double crosses you without a second thought. Plus she only knows how to wear black spandex and accessorize with glocks and concealed daggers.”

 

“Well if she’s a spy that seems perfectly appropriate,” Hermione shrugged.

 

Tony scoffed indignantly,“you would rather go with her than me?”

 

Hermione sighed. She would rather not go at all.

 

“Is it because I’m a man?” He asked with the utmost seriousness.

 

Hermione was a little taken back at how affronted he looked. 

“How dare you! You’re looking at one of GQ’s best dressed billionaire pioneers in the private clean energy sector for three consecutive years in a row I might add.” 

 

“That’s rather specific.” Hermione remarked not entirely impressed. She crossed her arms over her chest. “How many others are on that list?”

 

“Right now it’s just me and Elon Musk. It’s a very exclusive list. Doesn’t matter,” he said dismissively. “Are you ready to go or not?” he snapped.

 

“Of course. Lead the way,” Hermione said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, which wasn’t a lot.

 

They took the elevator to the garage and her jaw nearly dropped when she saw the fleet of fancy sports cars. There had to be at least two dozen. Arthur Weasley would have stroked out, woken up, and thought he died and gone to muggle heaven.

 

“Hello children. Daddy’s home.”

 

Hermione rolled her eyes.

 

“Seeing how you’re the guest of honor, I’ll let you pick our ride.”

 

Hermione feeling nostalgic picked the red one with the gold trim.

 

“Angelina? Good choice. I named this one after a very curvy redhead I met about a decade ago. Don’t tell Pepper.” Tony took out his phone and activated the ferrari. 

 

“That’s odd. Just a moment ago you referred to them as your children.”

 

“Well, she was very young when I met her. She was paying her way through college by modeling swimsuits. Very hardworking girl.”

 

“Ew. That’s about how old I am.” Hermione scrunched up her face in disgust.

 

“Hey,” he shot her a look. “You do not get to lecture anyone on what is an acceptable age difference between two consenting adults. You are barely a fertilized zygote compared to Thor.”

 

“Thor is not...We’re not...” Hermione stammered. Her face bloomed into a pretty pink color. “It’s not what you think!”

 

“You say that like we didn’t walk in on you two snuggling and holding hands like a pair of monogamous otters this morning.” 

 

Hermione crossed her arms over her chest, “my best friend Harry and I used to share a bed when we were on the run. Nothing untoward ever happened. We were just friends.” That was how they comforted each other when they were scared, which was often because they were young, practically children fighting in a war they had not business being in.

 

Tony snorted,“Yeah, I’m sure he enjoyed that. The friend-zone I mean. Over here sweetheart,” He already opened the door to the passenger side, “yer across the pond now, ya wee lass,” he said in what he thought was an English accent. “Unless you want to drive of course.”

 

“Me? Drive?” Hermione asked incredulously. “Probably not the best idea.” She hated admitting not knowing how to do something.

 

“You don’t know how to drive?” There was a hint of condescension in his voice.

 

“Unlike you Americans, we actually have an easily navigable and convenient public transportation system.” She slid into the passenger seat and buckled her seatbelt.

 

Tony closed her door and climbed into the drivers side. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, universal healthcare is great. It’s pronounced bah-zil, not bay-sil. I’ve heard it all before because I’ve been to England. People drive there.” Donning his designer sunglasses he shifted the car out of park and pulled out of the space. 

 

“But I never needed to learn how to drive,” Hermione argued. “When I turned seventeen I passed my apparition test.”

 

“You passed a test about ghosts?” Tony deadpanned not the least bit impressed. He pressed a button to open the garage door before he shifted gears and tore through the opening at max speed.

 

“No,” Hermione sighed. Fifteen minutes with this man and she was already out of patience. “It’s a form of magical transportation. I simply imagine where I want to go and I appear there. Like teleportation.”

 

“You gotta stop using the m word around me, but I’m curious. Show me.”

 

“I can’t. Not right now.” Hermione didn’t trust herself to apparate inside a moving vehicle without a wand. Not yet anyways. The last thing she wanted was to be splinched with no one to piece her back together. She grimaced at the memory of Susan Bones leaving her leg during their lessons.

 

“Besides, what do you call what Thor does when he summons the bifrost and instantly transports himself anywhere in the universe?”

 

“Extremely advanced technology that is beyond my grasp at the moment.” Tony didn’t push the subject anymore surprisingly.“Well, you’re in America now. Our public transit is non existent because we our designed cities around the automobile. Until you are ready to ghost or whatever, how about I let you drive on the way back? It would be good practice,” Tony suggested.

 

“Okay,” Hermione agreed begrudgingly only to move them along. She was ready for the day to be over with.

 

“You don’t have to be so sour about it. Driving is a privilege. You’ve missed a few things these last two decades including a law the King of Saudi Arabia passed to allow women to drive. In a way it was a bigger win than allowing them to vote,” Tony lectured. “You don’t want to be completely dependent on Thor to take you everywhere? Women that become dependent on men bec-”

 

“For the last time, Thor and I are…” What were they? Friends? That didn’t seem like an apt label for what they were. He was definitely more than a friend.

 

“Hey, no need to be defensive. I’m team Thor all the way. It was Bruce that was throwing shade this morning when we found you guys. Something about him being a million years older than you was inappropriate, but he doesn’t believe in true love like I do.”

 

Hermione’s hand inched toward the door handle. She wanted to throw herself out of the car far away from this conversation. They were worse than the gossip mill at Hogwarts. She heard a click as the doors locked like Tony had read her mind.

 

She sighed and looked out the window. This was her first foray into society leaving her safe bubble consisting of Thor and the Avengers. The world was the same but different. Mobiles were noticeably smaller. Cars were less boxy and sleeker. The music was considerably worse. 

 

The drive to the city was not as awkward as she thought it would be. They talked a little about Hogwarts. Plus Tony ignored every speed limit sign and got them there in record time. New York City was like London, busy and crowded. She had been there once with her parents on holiday, but only frequented the upper east and west side for the museums. 

 

Tony suddenly stopped the car in the middle of the street and got out. He went over to her side and opened the door for her.

 

“What are you doing? You can’t just stop here. You have to park first!”

 

“I programmed this car to self park. I’m not driving around for an hour looking for parking in New York City, are you crazy?” He looked at her like she was the one with a few screws loose in her head.

 

“Come on, we’re holding up traffic.” He held out his hand for her to take.

 

People started to honk and shout obscenities so she took Tony’s hand. Apparently New Yorkers didn’t care if you were a famous genius philanthropist billionaire super hero if you drive like an asshole.

 

The car door shut automatically when she got out and drove off by itself searching for a parking spot.

 

“Where are we?” She stood on the sidewalk looking around at the neat rows of storefronts. It looked like a very posh shopping area.

 

“Soho. Come along now,” he prodded her as if she were a child. “We have a few appointments, and it would be rude of us to be late.” Tony didn’t shop with commoners, so of course he called ahead to shut down a few stores.

 

The first store they entered was a fancy boutique that smelled of expensive perfume. A well dressed middle aged women came and greeted them ushering them into a sitting room complete with a tri fold mirror, pedestal, seating area with champagne chilling in a bucket. Another attendant came to take their coats. 

 

“This room is reserved for our most high profile clients,” the woman explained, “the staff will bring you anything you need.”

 

“Sounds good to me. The appointment is for her.” He nudged her forward. Tony plopped down on the settee and immediately attacked the champagne bottle while a flurry of attendants surrounded Hermione to take her measurements.

 

Tony sauntered over to them sipping a glass of champagne. “You have a build similar to Pepper,” he observed. “I want to see her in sheath dresses, fitted blouses, pencil skirts, tailored skinny pant legs, none of that flared bootcut bullshit. I want straight, clean lines,” he ordered. The attendants nodded and got to work on gathering the requested garments.

 

“How about jeans and jumpers instead?” Hermione suggested. “It’s what I’m used to wearing.”

 

“You’re an adult now, you should dress like one,” he said despite wearing a fading ACDC T-Shirt underneath his tailored jacket.

 

Hermione thought about the way Ms. Potts looked, and while she admired her style. She was a very chic and put together lady, but Hermione didn’t think she needed to look like that. She wasn’t the CEO of a large tech conglomerate.

 

“It’s not like I’m the CEO of a large tech conglomerate.”

 

“Dressed like that? No, you’ll never be CEO of anything.”

 

Hermione huffed and glared at him through the mirror. “I don’t want to be CEO of anything.” Hermione thought she would work at the Ministry because..well the wizarding economy was rather limited due to the size of their population. They didn’t have the labor pool to create vast industries. Plus the convenience of magic cut down on the demand for labor. 

 

Tony dropped his chin and sighed, “throw in some dark wash skinny jeans. No holes. And some basics. Knits, tees, camis, henleys in neutral tones.” He beckoned the attendant with his hand.

 

“Right away, sir.” The shop attendant scurried away to bring them more clothes.

 

“Are you saying Ms. Potts got to where she was because of her looks and sense of style?” There was an edge to her voice.

 

“No, Pepper paid her dues and then some. She gave her life to Stark Industries. But sometimes you have to look the part, so that people don’t immediately dismiss you. Is that fair? No, but that is an unfortunate part of being a man or a woman. I will admit your gender is judged more unfairly.”

 

Hermione snorted. She thought of all the time she was made fun of for her large teeth and bushy mane of hair. Luckily, she grew out of it (or in the case of her teeth, magicked out of it). She blossomed in her late teens as her mother told her. Yet, it still irked her that cleverness was overshadowed by her unruly hair. 

 

“Besides, how can you not care about what you look like?” The girl was pretty he had to admit. Not sexy like Natasha or generically hot like the models he used to date. No, she had quality to her that made her more endearing and uniquely special. Pepper had that same quality. There was a loveliness to her that Thor was clearly smitten with. She seemed pretty insecure he thought as he watched her study herself critically in the mirror. He figured it was a product of her age.

 

Hermione frowned. “I don’t care for shallow things like clothes and makeup. I prefer to use the time to study and better myself. Unlike the other girls I shared a dorm with.” She thought of Lavender and Padma spending hours experimenting with makeup and clothes, doing each other’s hair, reading witch weekly. 

 

“Don’t even think of it as a gender issue then. It’s a matter of pride. How you present yourself to the world matters.”

 

“What you do matters more,” Hermione countered. She disappeared behind the curtain of her dressing room. The attendants had stocked her dressing room with clothes for her to try on. 

 

“Please, I graduated from MIT at 15. I created my prototype arc reactor that powers my suit with scrap metal while I was a prisoner in a cave guarded by terrorists in fucking Afghanistan. My genius is my superpower, but I still enjoy an elegantly tailored three piece Tom Ford suit. Does that make me stupid and shallow?”

 

“Maybe the shallow part,” she mumbled as she tried on the first outfit. It was a fitted three quarter sleeve white blouse and tailored skinny trousers in a deep navy. Tony didn’t hear of course due to the partition.

 

“What sort of classes do you take at this magical boarding school anyways?” Tony asked changing the subject.

 

Hermione pulled back the curtain. “Hmm...Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Astrology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Muggle Studies, Divination, Care for Magical Creatures, I’ve taken all of them.” She stepped out of her changing stall and onto the pedestal to see herself in the mirror.

 

Tony didn’t know what Muggle studies was, but everything else sounded pretty standard given the context of what she was. Tony whistled. “That sounds like a pretty heavy course load.”

 

“It’s a lot like regular school actually,” she said as she turned to look at how the garments fitted her from different angles. “We had classes taught by a professor that was a master in their respective subject.”

 

“Assuming each class is at a minimum an hour long, how do you fit 12 hours of classes in a day plus enough time to do your school work? No wonder you never had time to dress yourself properly.” Tony was well aware that not everyone was a genius like him. Most people actually had to study. 

 

Hermione scowled. “I used a time turner my third year. I ended up dropping divination when I realized it was a useless subject.” She disappeared back behind the curtain to change.

 

“What’s a time turner?” Tony’s curiosity was piqued.

 

“It’s a magical device that lets me go back in time three hours so I could take my courses,” she yelled over the heavy curtain.

 

“Your kind invented time travel?” Tony asked skeptically.

 

“A very limited form of time travel, yes. Do you not have that here? You can travel through space and dimensions, but not time?” Hermione asked surprised.

 

“Time is a dimension. It’s just that we only travel in one direction. But no, to answer your question we have not figured out how to travel backwards,” Tony said snarkily.

 

Hermione rolled her eyes. She wondered if she was this insufferable. Maybe her classmates disliked her because she was an annoying know-it-all just like Snape said.

 

“They entrusted a teenager with a time machine? Sounds like a bad idea.”

 

Hermione pulled back the curtain and stepped out in a charcoal grey sheath dress with a square neckline that hit just above the knee. “For your information I am very mature for my age,” she said primly. “My head of house penned a letter to the Ministry of Magic to allow me to use it temporarily.”

 

“You used a time machine so you can take a heavier course load? Could you be more of a nerd? Do you not realize how revolutionary time travel is?” Tony leaned forward on the settee. There is so much more you can do. Mistakes that can be corrected. Changing the course of history.”

 

“I suppose any magic is revolutionary to a muggle,” she said. Examining herself in the mirror, she had to admit that she liked this dress on herself. “There were limits. I could go back only three hours. And there were very strict rules for me to follow, so I don’t cause any damage to the existing timeline. History is not be tampered with. Terrible things happen to wizards who meddle with time.”

 

“Still, I’d pay an obscene sum of money to get my hands on one of those to tinker with.” Tony came up behind her and met her eyes in the mirror’s reflection. “This one goes in the yes pile.” He went over to the shoe display and pulled a pair of round toe low wedges in a suede black material. “Put these on.”

 

“Well, we accidentally destroyed all of them during my fifth year when we broke into the ministry.” The shoes were chic, comfortable, and practical. She stood a little taller and straighter. 

 

“Breaking and entering AND the destruction of government property? I’m impressed.” His eyebrows raised. “You’re not as straight laced as you look.”

 

Hermione smirked. He didn’t even know half of the trouble she got in with Ron and Harry.

 

In the end, the shopping trip. They went to three other stores. He bought her some well made basics in neutral colors, jeans, shoes, the necessary winter coats, scarves, gloves. She even let him pick out a few more dresses including an evening gown, which he had said she will need in the near future. She had to admit that the man had a critical eye for clothing.

 

Last stop was undergarments, which Tony did not want to sit through. He dropped her off at the lingerie store before taking her bags. “I’m going to drop these off, and I’ll wait for you across the street.” He pointed to the upscale restaurant across the street. “Lisa, she’s the owner of this store, is waiting for you. She’ll bill me once you are finished. Don’t be shy. Go wild. I’ve got plenty of money to spare. Even enough for something Thor might like,” Tony offered, “on you of course.” 

 

Hermione looked like she wanted to throw up. “For the-It’s..It’s not like that!” she practically screamed.

 

The car appeared and Tony dropped off the bags in the boot. With technology like that, they didn’t need magic in this universe.

 

“Whatever you say Teen Wolf,” Tony said with a knowing look as he walked away.

 

~*~ 

 

Hermione finished quickly at the store. Entering the restaurant, she spotted Tony drinking alone at the bar. He hadn’t noticed her arrival yet. She took a minute to study him. Gone was the haughtiness and the unwavering confidence. Without it he looked defeated and weary. He didn’t look like the genius, billionaire, philanthropist playboy she went shopping with earlier. He looked like a man that had been left for dead. A man that was marooned in space for several months with no contact with the ones he loved.

 

Tony stared vacantly ahead at the shelves of expensive liquors. His expression grim and devoid of life. She had seen this blank expression before on Sirius. It was the look of loss and guilt.

 

“Hermione. That was quick,” he remarked when he finally noticed her reflection in the mirror backdrop behind the bar. Just like that the facade went up.

 

Hermione blinked. “You said my name.”

 

He pulled out the high back bar stool for her to sit in.

 

Hermione set down her bags and climbed into the seat next to him. The barkeep smiled and set down a menu and a glass of water for her.

 

“Thank you,” she nodded politely to the barkeep.

 

Tony scrolled through his phone. “While you were shopping, I was doing some reading about your mother. She was a renowned physicist. Excellent academic pedigree. Degrees from Oxford and Stanford. Published in several notable journals.” 

 

“My mother was a dentist,” Hermione said absently as she scanned the menu. The steak tartare appetizer sounded really good to her.

 

“I thought the name Granger sounded familiar,” Tony continued as if he didn’t hear her. “When Pepper dug up all that information about your parents, I was surprised. Did Pepper tell you what her research about?”

 

Hermione shook her head. This was not her mother, but she decided to entertain him anyways. He just dropped an exorbitant amount of money on a new wardrobe, plus she was crashing with him rent free.

 

“Her research explored the possibility of time travel. Isn’t that ironic?”

 

Hermione smiled wryly. “I suppose it is.” She took a sip of her water. Her throat suddenly felt dry.

 

“She died before her time. It was a huge loss for her field. Think of all that she could have accomplished.” He stared down at his glass of scotch. “Have you thought of what you are going to do now that you’re here?”

 

Hermione took a deep breath. “I’m afraid I have gotten that far yet.” She didn’t want him to know that she was considering going back.

 

Tony took a swig of his scotch. “You might want to start thinking about what you want to do here. Earn some qualifications. You need a degree to get ahead nowadays.”

 

“I had always liked the idea of attending university,” Hermione confessed wistfully. “The wizarding world didn’t have any system of higher education. They still operate on the master and apprentice model.”

 

Tony raised his eyebrows.“That sounds...archaic. Now’s your chance. College is pretty awesome. You get to actually learn about things you like. Make connections. Consume dangerous amounts of alcohol and caffeine.”

 

Hermione loved learning in general. “But I haven’t gotten any of the qualifications. I studied potions and transfiguration. Not maths or history. I can’t possibly sit for my A-levels.”

 

“Lucky for you. You have some of the greatest minds living under the same roof as you. Bruce loves to teach. Cho is a pioneer in her field. They would be happy to tutor you. Fuck, my AI system will get you up to speed without losing its mind. And I can help you. I’m not the best teacher, but I also don’t often offer my knowledge and expertise for free. I charge hefty retainer fees.”

 

Hermione laughed softly shaking her head. Tony did have a particular charm to him. “I haven’t got any money for tuition.”  

 

“Good thing I’m a billionaire then. I can pay for your tuition and fees.”

 

This sounded too good to be true for Hermione. “And why would you do that?” 

“Think of it as an investment for me. Many companies do this. Offer scholarships in exchange for new grads working for them for a certain number of years. We usually only extend this to graduate students because they do more specialized studies and training, but I know the CEO. I think she’ll make an exception.”

 

“And what exactly do you want me to do for you?” She sort of had an inkling of what he wanted based on the direction of the conversation.

 

Tony threw back the rest of his scotch. “I want you to build me a time turner.”

 

 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Anyone excited about Captain Marvel? I think I saw Chewie in one of the trailers. I had flirted with the idea of Thor running into Captain Marvel in space and adopting one of Chewie’s offspring for Hermione. It could be her ticket back to her world, I think. Maybe the Flerken can swallow Voldemort and store him in it’s cheek. Wouldn’t that be cute?


	15. Chapter 15

Hermione was so excited when McGonagall granted her special privilege to utilize a time turner to further her studies that she rushed to the Hogwarts library immediately after the meeting to read up everything she could find on those magical devices. She couldn't find anything, so she took a page out of Harry's book and snuck out of the dormitories after curfew to pay a visit to the Restricted Section.

Underneath Harry's invisibility cloak, she devoured all the text she could find, which was not much either sadly. Most were personal accounts of the writers' experience with time travel. They were tales of caution. Naturally there were no specific instructions on how to create one. That was classified information locked away securely somewhere in the Department of Mysteries.

The most useful book she found was about the Theory of Time Travel. The author postulated that the construction of the device was very simple, metal and glass. The spherical glass was made from melting the sand it encapsulated. The sand itself was charmed with spells derived from complicated arithmancy equations. The outer protective shell consisted of a durable metal. Surprisingly, that was the limiting factor that prevented the caster from going back further than three hours. The metal rings spun rapidly during the travel time protecting the glass and charmed sand. Any longer than three hours, the strain of the time warp would cause the device to break.

The solution was obvious. Find a metal that is more durable, but still malleable to withstand the strain of time travel. This theoretical metal did not exist on earth. And Tony was asking her to go back over a year.

"I'm telling you it's not possible."

"Eyes on the road. You don't have to look at me while you are talking. Also, what did I say about where your hands go on the steering wheel?" This was their first driving lesson or rather Tony was too drunk to drive them back from the city.

"I don't understand why you don't just put the car on autodrive or autopilot." She re-positioned her hands so that they were at 10 and 2 o'clock on the steering wheel.

"And miss this opportunity of giving you a valuable lesson on American culture? People spend half of their lives in their cars commuting from one place to another in this country."

"Seems like an awful way to spend your time. Actually this whole exercise is completely pointless. If the future already has self-driving cars. Why bother with driving?"

"Because not everyone is a brilliant billionaire inventor like me. I customized this car with Stark tech. This technology is still not affordable to the masses yet." He hoped to change that of course since that bastard Musk was already working on commercial space travel.

She was a part of the masses he referred to. She had not a single knut, pence, or cent to her name.

They neared an intersection where the lights were changing. "Red light, red light, RED LIGHT!" Tony shouted when she didn't slow down as the yellow faded to red.

Hermione slammed on the brakes. The momentum caused them both to lurch forward.

"Ugh! Careful. This scotch is older than you!" The brown liquid sloshed around in the tumbler, little droplets splashing onto the dash. He clutched the crystal glass in his hand as if it were a lifeline.

"I don't think you were supposed to have taken that from the establishment." She tapped her fingers impatiently against the steering wheel waiting for the light to change.

"No, it's fine," Tony said brushing the spilled liquid off his shirt. "I made sure to tip the waiter enough money for him to cover a month's rent. New York City ain't cheap." Hermione realized that Tony was the type of person that just did whatever he wanted by buying his way out of the consequences.

"It's actually one of the most expensive cities in the world. The Avengers used be headquartered there," Tony continued. "Oh, we're also turning here so put on your signal. Good. Now go. Nope, nope, wrong lane. There's a car coming at us." He gripped the steering wheel with his free hand turning it so the car drifted back into the proper lane just as the car from the opposite direction honked before giving them the middle finger. "There you go. We drive on the right side of the road over here," he said emphasizing  _right_.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

By the time they reached the compound, Hermione was a pro. There were a few more near accidents, but other than that she proved that she was a quick learner.

"See, that wasn't so bad?" Tony said as he slammed the door close. He took the shopping bags and handed them to the attendant he paged. Ever since Tony's return, the place seemed more populated and busier.

"I suppose not," she admitted begrudgingly.

"We can do this again another time. Maybe after that I'll take you to the DMV, so you can pass your test."

"Thank you Tony." The corners of her mouth quirked into a smile. She supposed that they could be on a first name basis, "for everything."

"Anytime, Sabrina." He gave her a one handed salute with his back turned as he walked away from her.

She scowled. He had a knack for ruining good moments.

"Oh and let me know about the time turner." He stopped and turned around to face her. "Either way, I'll still send you to the school of your choice. A mind like yours deserves an education."

She was rendered speechless by his generosity.

Tony disappeared before she could thank him again. She seemed to be thanking a lot of people lately.

Hermione hugged the folded red cape to her chest. She had taken it with her since Tony was in such a hurry to go.

"Thor, please," she asked the AI tentatively. "Where is he?"

"On his way over to you." He must have been alerted to her return because she saw him round the corner grinning.

In true Thor fashion, he didn't just say hello. He picked her up and hugged her. "I missed you," he said burying his face into her hair. They had been apart for nearly a day.

"Me too," she sighed contently as she relaxed into him. No one else made her feel the way Thor did. She felt protected. Shielded from everything that was bad and horrible, she was safe from harm as long as he held her like this.

He placed her back on the ground, so he could look at her properly, "you look nice." She blushed at the compliment. There was never any pretense to Thor. "Oh, thank you," she said looking down at her new outfit. "Tony picked them out."

"So it's Tony now?" Thor raised an eyebrow. "You two are getting along now?"

"He's not so bad. Not bad at all actually." She handed him the folded cape.

"Well I'm glad you're settling in here. Banner is quite fond of you as well."

She was relieved. She really liked Dr. Banner and her inner teacher's pet desperately wanted him to like her too.

"What's the matter?" Thor asked studying her pensive face.

"I was just thinking about the similarities between my world and yours."

"And?"

"Well for instance, Tony drives this car. It's called a Ferrari, and we have those in my world too. There were other things I noticed too," Hermione rambled. "One of the stores I went into carried my mother's favorite perfume. I saw the Brooklyn Bridge on our way back here..."

"And you're wondering what else from your world also exists here?" Thor deduced. He knew where this was going.

"Um...yes."

"Hermione, I told you magic died here a long time ago."

"Yes, but what if there were some of it left?" she paced around wringing her hands nervously. "Like relics, magical objects that survived?"  _A wand perhaps._

Thor sighed, but he acquiesced, "where would you like to go?" He understood what she needed. He was willing to indulge her and chase every trail and every possibility if it helped her close that chapter of her life.

"London."

* * *

They landed on one of the many bridges traversing the Thames near Parliament. The stately building gave her hope.

"Where to next?" Thor asked looking down at her. His arm remained securely wrapped around her waist.

"Charing Cross." She took his hand and led him off the bridge. She needed to find Diagon Alley. She knew that she couldn't get in without a wand, but as a muggleborn neither her nor her parents had one to begin with. McGonagall had shown her the entrance to the shopping district, but Tom had to let her in. As long as she can see the Leaky Cauldron, she'll be granted access.

It was late but there were still quite a few people about doing last minute Christmas shopping. She stood in front of a dilapidated brick wall. Pressing her hand to it she said, "it would have been here." There was nothing. No pub, no magical signatures. It was just an ordinary back alleyway.

Thor didn't miss the disappointment in her voice. "What was here?"

"The entrance to Diagon Alley. I got my Hogwarts letter after my eleventh birthday from Professor McGonagall. The next day my mum and dad took me to Diagon Alley and bought me my wand from Ollivanders. It was ten and three quarter inches of vine with a dragon heartstring core. They say that the wand chooses the witch or wizard. It's true. When I held it in my hand, it just felt right. I was complete. Everything that made me different suddenly made sense. I knew that this was where I belonged." She lightly traced the brick pattern. The realization that she may be the only witch in this world and wandless was finally sinking in. "I can't do magic, Thor, not without my wand. Not properly anyways."

"You know that's not true," he closed the distance between them standing directly behind her. "You've proven otherwise several times over the last few days alone. You assaulted my brother and destroyed my house, remember?" The amusing lilt in his voice showed that he held no grudge of course.

"That was accidental magic, and I was provoked. It's hard to control and unreliable. That's why we are given wands at an early age. The entire Hogwarts curriculum was designed around one. My friend nearly failed his second year just because he broke his." She leaned back against his broad chest. His arms instinctively wrapped around her.

Thor frowned. She seemed really attached to this wand, but what was more disconcerting was that she seemed really attached to a world she thought she could still return to and change.

"Why is this so important to you?" Thor asked breaking the momentary silence.

Hermione took a deep breath. "When I was trying to change back, your brother kept mocking me. I kept thinking that if I only I had my wand…When they took it away from me, I felt powerless. Suddenly I was an ordinary muggle again."

Thor turned her around to face him. Grasping her shoulders, "you are not powerless Hermione Granger. Far from it."

"But-"

Thor placed a finger on her lips silencing her. She always had a rebuttal ready, and it was hard to get a word in edgewise sometimes. "Listen. Your wand," he paused before continuing. This was a delicate subject for them both, "it's...It's not everything. Mjolnir was very dear to me. It came to me when I called upon it. It only  _moved_  for me. We defeated countless enemies together," he spoke as if it were a person, a friend, a brother. "When my sister destroyed it, it felt like she ripped off one of my limbs." He was lucky she didn't. "I didn't think I could defeat her without it."

"Yes, but you have Stormbreaker now." She looked away petulantly. "It's easy for you to say that because if anything Stormbreaker is even better than Mjolnir!"

Thor inhaled sharply. Mjolnir was still a sore spot for him."No," he said calmly; fists clenched. "Nothing can replace Mjolnir," he corrected her. He gently grasped her by the chin turning her head back to face him. "But that's beside the point, Hermione. Your wand is not the source of your power. It's merely a conduit much like Mjolnir was mine. What was the first spell you ever learned?"

Hermione contemplated silently for a moment. She thought back on the day she returned home arms full of Flourish and Blotts shopping bags. She spent the weeks leading up to her departure to Hogwarts reading and rereading every spell book. "Lumos, it's a spell that creates light."

Thor pulled her to him before summoning the bifrost. They landed in a deserted, dimly lit cul de sac.

"I became stronger without my hammer and so will you. You don't need a wand. My brother never used one, neither did my mother." He created a pulse from his fingertips, which short circuited all the lampposts submerging them in darkness.

"Thor! What are you doing?"

"We can build you a new wand." He took her hands into his and pulled her towards the center of the paved circle. "I know a dwarf named Eitri that constructs the most extraordinary weapons using the fire of a dying star. Nidavellir. I might take you there someday. It's the same place where Mjolnir and Stormbreaker were forged. I'll even slay a dragon and cut out its heart for you." He squeezed her hands. "But you need to be strong enough to wield such a weapon first because they are not meant for mortals."

Hermione swallowed uncomfortably. It was so dark, she could barely see the outline of his large frame. She hoped under the cloak of darkness that he didn't see the tears brimming in her eyes.

"There's no Statute of Secrecy anymore. No Death Eaters hunting you. You are free to be exactly as you are now."

He was right. She didn't need to hide who she was anymore from muggles or blood supremacists.

"When did you first discover magic?"

"I told you, I was eleven when I first got my Hog-"

"No," Thor shook his head. "That's not what I asked. When did you learn about magic? Not when did you learn that you were a witch," he repeated. "You probably discovered the former before realizing the latter."

Hermione shut her eyes. The memory was unpleasant. "I was nine when I saved my mum and I from that truck heading towards us while we were out Christmas shopping." She felt like she was confessing a deep, dark secret. "I apparated us to safety three blocks over. My mum freaked out."

Thor smiled."That's very complex magic for someone so young. I'm sure you can fix this easily." He looked up to the overcast sky. The dark blue clouds obscured the light from the stars.

"What if I can't?" She looked down at her hands which were encased in his much larger ones. This wasn't just about a few broken lights.

Thor looked at her intently. "Then I'll come with you. Back to your world. If this wand is so important to you that you feel incomplete without it, then we'll figure out a way to get you back there."

Hermione held her breath. She couldn't believe what he was saying. "But this is your home. You heard what Wong said."Offering to leave what little he had left to follow her in what would be a mission with a low probability of success. He was all but declaring his love for her.

"I'm confident we can make a home anywhere," Thor said effortlessly. "I'm also confident that you don't need a wand. That if anything it has hindered you. You are stronger than you think." He turned her around so she faced the street full of broken lamps. "Fix this." He wrapped his arms around her waist and tucked her head underneath his chin. "You know how."

Hermione peered up at him. He was completely serious. The thought of building a home with Thor filled her with warmth and confidence. He believed in her, and she didn't want to disappoint him. Hermione concentrated on the specific wand movement and imagined the lamps illuminating as she shouted, "LUMOS!"

A bright ball of pure white light radiated from her dispersing into smaller orbs. Each one floated towards a lamp post to replace the broken bulbs lighting up the entire street even brighter than before.

"I did it…" she gasped clapping her hands together. She turned around to meet his smiling face. "I did it, Thor."

Thor beamed. "Yes. Yes, you did." He hugged her and swung her around. "I told you! How could you ever doubt yourself?" They both laughed overjoyed by her accomplishment. This was different than the other times. She felt a sense of control over her magic.

Feeling bold and empowered following her success, she did something impulsive. Standing on her tiptoes she wrapped her arms around his neck. Closing the small distance between them, she kissed him in the circle of light she created. This had been the first time she had ever initiated a kiss with someone.

Thor was completely caught off guard. The look of shock on his face prompted her to immediately apologize. "I'm so sorry!" It suddenly occurred to her that she may have misinterpreted his affections towards her. Perhaps he simply wanted to protect her in a purely platonic, possibly brotherly way. The realization stung her with disappointment and humiliation.

Before she could shirk away in embarrassment, his arms tightened around her preventing her escape. Thor grinned. "No, never apologize. Not for that. Never for that." Then he lifted her back up because their height difference made it difficult to properly kiss her.


	16. Chapter 16

It was the summer prior to fifth year at Grimmauld Place. Harry, Ron, and Hermione out of boredom and spite from being excluded from an Order meeting nicked a bottle of firewhiskey and got absolutely sloshed. Cheeks flushed and giggling, they were sent to bed without dinner and made to suffer through their hangovers the next day.

 

Hermione wondered if she could get drunk from kisses because she felt positively buzzed from kissing Thor. Her skin flushed and warm, her brain foggy from the lack of oxygen. Thor kissed her thoroughly and relentlessly. His scratchy beard tickled her. Unable to laugh, as her mouth was otherwise occupied by Thor’s tongue, her body trembled and bucked against his.

 

Thor felt every squirm every tremor as he had pulled her flush against him, but he craved more. Cupping the curve of her arse, he opened her up pressing his groin against the space between her thighs. Women’s trousers were a revelation to Thor when he first arrived on Earth. While visually pleasing on the female form, they were Thor’s worst enemy right now. To put it mildly, he really wanted to get laid. 

 

Thor pushed her shirt up exposing her abdomen wanting to touch her bare skin. He loved touching and petting Ylva, but her soft fur hardly compared to Hermione’s actual skin, which he had been dying to feel since he saw her true form at the Sanctum. It was smooth and supple just like he had imagined. His fingers lightly grazed over her rib cage causing her knee to involuntarily jerk. He smiled against her lips as he caught her knee, which hit a little too close to his groin area. She was ticklish there just like she was when she was a wolf. He was determined to find out where else she was ticklish. It had been a while since he last lain with a woman, and he would be lying if the prospect of bedding Hermione didn’t make him completely hard.

 

Nothing compared to kissing Thor. There was no awkwardness or clumsy fumbling or slobbering. He knew exactly what he was doing, but not to be outdone because Hermione Granger excelled at everything she put her mind to. She mirrored his actions pleased when he groaned and returned her kiss with an eagerness and intensity that literally left her breathless.

She had only kissed three boys in her life. Viktor Krum had been her first kiss. She had been fifteen at the time. He had kissed her one day when they were both leaving the library tucked away in a dark alcove away from gossiping students and strict teachers. Then there was that regrettable moment under the mistletoe with Cormac McLaggen at Slughorn’s Christmas party that she enjoyed more than she was willing to admit. Finally she kissed Ron. Her best friend,  _ Ron… _ .The guilt hit her like a freight train. Hermione pulled back and broke the kiss gasping for air. “Oh god…”

 

Thor didn’t need oxygen so he continued suckling and nipping along her jaw and neck leaving newly formed bruises over the existing ones. His hand traveled further north smoothing her skin and bunching up her shirt until he reached the underwire of her bra. Midgardian undergarments confused Thor. They seemed to take every precaution to never be naked for some reason. He tugged on the collar of her shirt with his other hand to expose more unkissed areas. He was careful to not rip her new clothes. That would be ungentlemanly. But he wasn’t quite ready to remove his lips from her person either to slip off all her warm layers, so he settled for under the shirt groping instead.

 

“I um...I forgot something.” Indeed she had, Ron. They were lying on Thor’s bed. She wriggled herself out of his grasp. His mouth unwillingly detached from her and his arms reluctantly released her. She got up to fix her clothes, while Thor stared at her dumbfounded.

 

“Hermione?” His voice was hoarse and uncertain. “Where are you going? It’s late.” He said as if she didn’t have her own room to return to that was just down the hall. He assumed that she would want to stay with him in his suite. 

 

Running her fingers through her tangled hair, she avoided his gaze mumbling an apology and some half baked excuse of needing to find Pepper. She spotted something black and shiny sitting on the nightstand next to her phone. She grabbed her phone from the table and slipped the resurrection stone into her pocket before making a hasty retreat from his room leaving a very aroused and confused Thor on the bed. 

 

A safe distance away from Thor’s suite of rooms, Hermione touched her lips. Just five minutes ago she was snogging Thor, but it felt wrong all of the sudden. Ron was the last boy she kissed. What if he was still alive in Azkaban? She was not present at his trial, but Draco had conveyed that despite their blood traitor status, for the sake of preserving purity of the older wizarding families, they were spared and sent to Azkaban to be rehabilitated. Not that she trusted Draco despite the help she received from him. He was merely repaying a debt owed to Harry, and she knew it was largely due to Narcissa that she was able to escape.

 

She suppressed the thought of her surviving friends when she was imprisoned as there was nothing to be done. She had expected to die or die trying to escape, but she was free now and the survivor’s guilt was hitting her pretty hard. 

 

Taking the stone and turning it three times she concentrated on Ron’s smiling, freckled face, but nothing happened. She tried again. She didn’t feel any relief or happiness. She felt conflicted.

 

“He’s not coming,” a familiar voice said.

 

Hermione whipped her head around scanning the dark, empty corridor. “Harry?” She thought she saw a head of black hair.

 

“What were you hoping for? Absolution?”

 

Turning back around she saw him much to her disappointment.

 

“Hello again,” Loki emerged from the shadows. “Hermione, is it?”

 

Hermione tensed. He was the last person she wanted to see. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at him. “What do you know?”

 

“More than you,” he said idly examining his fingernails. He kept his distance from her like she was a carrier for an infectious disease or something. 

 

“How could you possibly know who I’m waiting for?” Her voice faltered as she finished. Harry’s words echoed in her mind.  _ Everyone goes to the same place. I told you. I can see what goes on in the world of the living. _

 

“When you’re dead there’s not much to do. It’s interesting to observe the living up close though. For instance just today I overheard Stark speaking to Banner about a device you were planning to make for them to undo what Thanos did.”

 

“There’s no merit to that. I haven’t agreed to anything. If you had been spying on us then you would know that.”

 

“Oh, but you will.” 

 

Hermione shook her head stubbornly. “It would be absolutely mad to do so. The length of time. It’s too dangerous, the consequences-”

 

“If you love my brother you will do it.”

 

Loki smirked when she opened her mouth to deny her feelings only to shut it immediately. It was something of a reflex for her.

 

“I just saw you running out of Thor’s room. Judging by your rumpled clothing, disheveled hair, and panicked guilt ridden expression, you were fucking him weren’t you?” He tilted his head in amusement. The old Thor had several dalliances including ones with other people’s wives.

 

Hermione wrapped her arms around herself clutching the collar of her shirt closed. “No!” she vehemently denied. They were just snogging. She felt violated by him just asking.

“No?” Loki was surprised. No one has ever denied Thor. “Interesting. You’re still in denial about your affections for my brother and his for you, aren’t you? I’m guessing it has something to do with a certain red headed, spotted boyfriend of yours. Rob, is it? That’s the source of your guilt.” Normally teenage romances were beneath his time and attention, but this particular one he could exploit to change his fate.

 

Hermione froze. She slowly turned her head in his direction. “Ron,” she corrected.“What did you see? Is he alright? Tell me everything!” she demanded. “Please!”

 

Loki had to suppress a smile. He knew he had her. “I’ll tell you, but you have to do something for me in return.”

 

Hermione hesitated. She didn’t trust Loki and sensed this was a trap.

 

“My time here is at an end, and I only ask that you to keep Thor from summoning me again.”

 

Hermione baffled by the request asked “why?” This had to be a trick. 

 

“Because believe it or not, I care for him. He’ll never truly accept that I am gone unless he actually lets me go. He’ll never get on with his life either.” If Thor had his way, Loki would be tethered to him for the rest of his long life and that was unacceptable to him being at the mercy of his older brother.

 

Hermione was surprised not by his confession, but by how he managed not to sound like a complete narcissist. “Deal.” She never wanted to see him ever again anyways.

“Well then. To answer your question. Your friend is still alive. Rotting in that magical prison in the middle of the sea. His mind is all but gone,” he said clinically. He studied her reaction and her silence told him everything.

 

Hermione should have been overjoyed and exalting in relief that he was still alive, but she was paralyzed from the revelation. She had to make a choice now.

 

“You were hoping that he was dead, so you can carry on with my brother, weren’t you?”

 

That snapped her out of it. “How dare you?!” Ron was one of her oldest friends and first love. They never even got a chance to really be together. “How dare you assume these things about me that you know nothing about?”

 

“Then tell me, what do you plan to do with this information I have just given you?”

 

Hermione deliberated silently.  _ What would Harry do? _ Eyes fixed on the ground, fists clenched.“I have to go back,” she said with resignation. “I will save him,” she said with determination. She had no other option. He was her friend. Her best friend. Hermione Granger would never abandon her friends.

 

“And what of Thor?”

 

“He said he would come with me.” She didn’t know why she told him that.

 

“And you think that is in his best interest? Have him follow you on this journey that is destined to fail?”

 

“Maybe we won’t succeed, but I have to try. Thor said-”

 

“He would make a home with you anywhere.” He shot her a  pitying  look that she never wanted to be on the receiving end of ever again. “You are mortal, Thor is not.”

 

Hermione lifted her chin defiantly.“Wizards have found a way around that.”  _ Well one had. _

 

“Ah, but how many have succeeded? How many of you wand carriers have achieved immortality? The gift of the gods. What do you think will happen to him when you die? He needs his people. Father always disapproved of his relationship with the one Dr. Jane Foster for exactly that reason.”

 

“Who’s that?” An innocuous question because she wasn’t jealous just curious.

 

“Thor’s other mortal. Such a shame. I quite like her.” To his chagrin, Hermione’s face remained impassive.

 

Hermione straightened her spine standing a little taller. “If I can build a time turner, I’m sure I can find a way to recreate the philosopher’s stone,” Hermione grounded out. Loki knew all the right buttons to push. 

 

Loki shrugged not quite convinced. “Maybe I chose the wrong person for this,” Loki spoke. “Maybe you’re not brilliant enough to do this. That’s a shame. My brother seems to be lowering his standards,” he mused. “Sif was a feared warrior that fought alongside him. Dr. Foster was a Nobel winning astrophysicist that helped him save the universe from plunging into eternal darkness years ago.” He paused thoughtfully and turned to her, “but what will you do for Thor? You’re just an  _ average  _ witch with a mortal lifespan. You’re right, you’re not going to create this time turner because you can’t. It’s beyond you.”

 

Hermione knew she shouldn’t take the bait, but she was also a nineteen year old high achieving Gryffindor. And you never tell a Gryffindor that something was impossible. 

 

“Why should I listen to you? You obviously have a stake in this don’t you? If we succeed you get to come back to life. Thor told me of the things you’ve done on Earth. You’re absolutely vile! I’ve had enough of your kind. Magical dictator wannabes thinking they can just kill anyone they deemed to be lesser beings. I’ve been fighting people like you my entire life. Why should I help you?”

 

“Because you wouldn’t just be saving mine and Thor’s people. You would be saving trillions of lives throughout the universe. You would be undoing the most widespread, catastrophic massacre in the history of this universe. Trillions of innocent lives lost. Do you not think it is your moral duty if you are the only one that can create this time turner? Every one of your new Avenger friends also lost someone dear to them. And they’ve done so much to help you too. And just so you know, if we ever truly fought while I was alive, you would be dead. Your magic is no match for mine.”

 

“Diffindo!” Hermione’s astral projection shot a spell, which Loki effortlessly dodged.

 

He tsked and wagged his finger at her.

 

“Incendio!”

 

“Bombarda!” Hermione panted. She noticed that this time her corporeal body remained conscious, but she couldn’t maintain the separation for long and her astral projection returned to her body.

 

Loki laughed.“It’s cute that you think you can hurt me. I’m dead,” he taunted.

 

“What is it that you want?! Why are you here Loki? To torment me?” she accused angrily. 

 

Loki held up his hands and said, “I’m only trying to help,” as if she were merely overreacting to his words. No one was better at gaslighting than the God of Mischief.

 

Hermione’s chest heaved from the exertion. She did not want his help. “Why should I believe you?” Her entire body shook with anger. “I don’t trust you. You could be lying about Ron.”

 

“But I’m not. Try calling him again. He’s not coming because he’s not dead.”

 

She squeezed the stone in her hand. He was right. “Why would you offer to help me?”

 

“Because I want to help Thor. I’ll tell you exactly what you need to do.”

 

Hermione clenched her jaw. She thought about walking away since she couldn’t seem to land a hit. “Maybe Thor doesn’t want your help. What good have you done? You’ve tried to kill him multiple times!”

 

“Careful with your words. I have known Thor for far longer and better than you ever will. You may be warming his bed right now, spreading your legs, and offering him your cunt,” Loki leaned in speaking into her ear. She hadn’t noticed him move behind her.

 

Hermione winced at his vulgarity. She felt his presence looming behind her. Her cheeks flamed with anger and humiliation from his gross accusations.

 

“But you’re not special. Thor has had hundreds of lovers before you and many more after you. Your life is but a blink of an eye in his. As is every friend he’s made on this backwater planet.” He backed away. “Thor needs his people. You can give him that.”

 

Hermione held back her tears. “You want me to build a time turner so that we can change the past.”

 

“You do this and not only will you help save Thor’s people, but you will be able to go back to the moment our worlds touched.”

 

Hermione swallowed. It was her best chance to get back to her universe.“What about Thanos? Thor wasn’t able to kill him before.” Even if they could there would be the whole Baby Hitler Time Travel can of worms to contend with.

 

“What if you didn’t have to kill him?”

 


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you'll notice I officially changed the rating to Explicit and also tagged the story accordingly. I debated for a long time whether or not to post the explicit content I had written as good smut is very difficult to write and bad smut can ruin a perfectly good story. Plus I felt the story was fine without it. If you don't like reading explicit content, I do have this story posted on Fanfiction.net under Totodile 158 with the same title sans the smut.

 

Hermione returned to her quarters. She sniffed and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. She broke down crying after Loki faded away. Opening her wardrobe, she noticed that someone had already put away her newly purchased clothes. The staff at the compound were largely unseen kind of like the house elves at Hogwarts.

 

Reaching for the comfy flannel pyjamas bottoms, she saw the white cotton nightgown she picked out earlier tucked away in the same drawer. It was a modest sleeveless breathable shift that hit just above the knee. She was saving it for the warmer months. She changed her mind and donned the nightgown and crept quietly to Thor’s room.

 

The room was dark, but she could make out Thor’s massive form in the center of the bed. She carefully climbed in wondering if it was such a good idea to sneak up on a sleeping giant.

 

Thor was already awake though. His eyes opened as soon as he heard the door creak open, her bare feet padding across the floor. He could smell her sweet floral scent as she approached the bed.

 

He rolled over onto his back. “Hermione,” he said rubbing his eyes. He opened his other arm beckoning her to him. “What’s the matter?” He asked for the second time that night.

 

She crawled across the large bed and tucked herself under his arm. He was naked under the sheets of course, and she hoped that the darkness hid the flush on her cheeks.

 

“You’ve been crying,” he said cupping her cheek,“why?” They were sticky from her dried tears.

 

“Loki. I ran into him after I met with Ms. Potts,” Hermione said maintaining the lie from before.

 

Thor immediately bolted up to a sitting position. The sheets pooled around his waist. “Did he hurt you?” Hovering over her, Thor ran his hands over her checking for any signs of injury.

 

“You know that he cannot hurt me,” Hermione reassured him. She caught his hand and brushed her lips along his fingertips before pressing it against her cheek.

 

In return Thor ran his thumb over her bottom lip. His hand settled on the base of her neck. Thor’s touch always had a protective element to it.“My brother does not need his magic to inflict pain. He’s perfectly capable of doing damage with just his words.”

 

Thor wasn’t wrong. Hermione grasped his much larger hand with both of hers. Cradling it against her heart, she said, “and I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself.”

 

“I don’t doubt that,” he said as he watched her interlace her fingers with his. She looked so beguiling and innocent. He had known strong women all his life, his mother, Sif, Valkyrie, Jane. Hermione was no different, but he still wanted a word with his brother. “Where is he?” 

 

He made a move to get off the bed when Hermione sat up and pressed her hand against his chest, “he’s already gone, Thor.”

 

“Oh. Well let me call him again. Where is the stone?”

 

“No, please don’t,” Hermione pleaded.

 

“What did my brother do?” Thor’s voice was laced with concern and anger.

 

Hermione looked down at her lap.“He was a complete arse. Why does he hate me so much?” So far she wasn’t lying. She just needed to persuade Thor to not call him again. “Does he just go around taunting people? How miserable do you have to be to do that?”

 

Thor sighed pinching the space between his eyes. A very furious Clint had confronted him earlier today along with Natasha and Steve. On his way over to Hermione, he ran into a displeased Tony, who asked why he still hadn’t ejected the problem also known as his brother from the premises like he had asked earlier that day. The whole place was in an uproar due to Loki’s presence. Loki had seriously maligned his friends. Much of what he had done was unforgivable, but he had hoped that his brother would at least try to get along with Hermione. Loki had a rather abrasive personality. Odin thought he was too clever for his own good. Not many could match his wit and intellect. Those were the very traits that isolated him from others. 

 

“I must apologize for Loki,” Thor said raking his hand through his short hair. “It seems he lives up to his name. He causes discord everywhere he goes and incurs the ire of everyone.” Thor thought perhaps for the time being he should refrain from summoning Loki.

 

“It’s alright. I don’t have to see him again now that the curse has been broken,” Hermione held her breath for Thor’s reaction.

 

Thor lied back onto the bed folding his arms behind his head and exhaled. “No, I suppose not.”

 

Hermione felt guilty for lying to him. She tried to convince herself that she was protecting him sparing the hurt of Loki leaving him. As if Thor needed anyone to protect him. Thor was a very gallant, headstrong individual with a bit of a hero complex. He was a bit rough around the edges, but he had a very pure heart. Had he been born a wizard he would have been sorted into Gryffindor at Hogwarts. His affable personality and good looks would have garnered him many friends and admirers. He would have been captain of the quidditch team no doubt. He was born to lead. He would have never given her a second glance in that universe. They wouldn’t have developed the unique bond they have now. That thought upset her for some reason.

 

“Something is wrong. Speak.” Thor rubbed comforting circles on her lower back. He was very adept at reading her mood. She could feel the warmth from his skin through the thin material. “What are you thinking about?”

 

“Nothing,” she said as she leaned over him. 

 

“I don’t believe you,” he said locking eyes with her. 

 

She said nothing. She hovered over him for moment quietly studying his eyes. They were beautiful and blue, her favorite color, and full of concern for her. Thor cared for her, she knew that. Tucking her hair behind her ear she lowered her mouth to his.

 

Thor flipped her onto her back before deepening the kiss. She felt herself pressed into the soft mattress as Thor kissed her hungrily. One hand grasping her hair firmly to hold her mouth against his while the other traveled up her calf, thigh, and cupping her arse.

 

Thor was surprised to find her bare underneath her nightgown. A deep growl rumbled in his chest, and he backed off. “Are you sure you want to do this? Don’t start something you can’t finish, sweetling.” Despite the warning, his eyes held that same  playful gleam as if he were challenging her to a hunt or a race. Thor was more than ready to have her, but she will have to consent without his coaxing. She was rather young even for a human, and he didn’t want to force her to do anything she wasn’t ready for. 

 

Hermione stared up at him. Her cheeks were flushed and her chest rose and fell with her breathing. His large hand migrated up her body smoothing over her taut stomach fingertips brushing the undersides of her breasts. He cupped the soft swell of flesh, his thumb brushing her nipple causing her to squirm under him impatiently.

 

His hand trailed south resting above her mound, while he waited for her permission to continue. Thor wore an expression that was dark and feral almost. Sex would irreversibly change their relationship dynamics. Then again her relationship with Thor had been unconventional from the beginning. For a while she was his pet wolf, but not. This felt right to her. Like it was the natural progression of their relationship. Like it had been something she had been waiting for with much anticipation.

 

It scared Hermione, but she trusted Thor. She  _ wanted _ Thor. Loki’s words echoed in her mind, she was afraid that she will never have him. She acted quickly and resolved to deal with the consequences tomorrow.

 

Her eyes never left his as she placed a single hand on his chest gently pushing him until there was enough space between them for her to sit up. Crossing her arms, she grabbed the hem of her nightgown and pulled it over her head discarding it unceremoniously on the floor. Cupping Thor’s face with both her hands she pressed a kiss to his mouth, which he greedily consumed and savored it as he held her bare body flushed against his. Hermione wrapped her leg over his side anchoring herself to him. She was soft, smooth, and delicate against his hard, etched exterior. 

 

Breaking the kiss, he whispered in her ear, “are you sure you want this?” He hugged her to his body, “I won’t be angry if you decide not to go any further.” Thor didn’t need her to tell him that she had never been with a man. He had bedded enough women to recognize inexperience. Though he had to admire her boldness. Had he been a mortal man he may have mistaken it for impatience rather than a ruse to disguise her nervousness. She was a headstrong girl and a survivor of war. He understood her reluctance to show any vulnerability, but he wanted her to trust him. 

 

She pulled back to look at his face. Her hands rested securely on his broad shoulders. She was afraid that he might disappear if she let go of him. He almost didn’t seem real to her sometimes. Their meeting was a complete fluke. Of the billions of universes she could have landed in, she crossed over into his. In this very moment she was astride on his lap. She was naked. He was naked. What happened next should have already been a foregone conclusion.

 

“We don’t have to go any further,” he reiterated cupping her cheek. He glanced down appreciatively at her naked body. “I am more than pleased that we got this far,” he winked. 

 

She blushed and slumped her forehead against his shoulder from embarrassment. Maybe she wasn’t ready. “I want this,” she whispered into his shoulder.

 

Thor wasn’t quite convinced. Rubbing his hands up and down her spine, he asked again, “are you sure? We have plenty of time to explore this part of us. There is no rush,” he reassured her as he suckled gently on her earlobe. There were plenty of enjoyable things he could do to her naked body without penetrating her. His dick disagreed vehemently, but whatever.

 

A shiver traveled down her spine from the contact. Unable to form words she lifted her head and nodded in affirmation. Maybe Thor had all the time in the universe, but she didn’t as Loki had made her painfully aware of earlier.

 

Cradling her against him, he carefully lowered her back onto the mattress. He planted a kiss on her perfectly formed lips, “we’ll go slow,” he promised kissing down her neck.

 

Hermione thought as she sunk into the plush pillows while Thor’s hands and mouth traveled down her body leaving lingering kisses and heated touches that maybe just this one time, she would be selfish and do the wrong thing for once.

 

Thor slid his hands underneath her cupping her backside. He pressed kisses along her abdomen before parting her legs revealing her to him. Placing a kiss on her inner thigh, he took a good look at her. Her quim was moist, pink, and inviting. Smiling to himself, he dove in head first.    

 

Hermione jerked and gasped. She looked down to see Thor’s face buried between her legs. She threaded her fingers into Thor’s hair and squeezed her thighs together trapping him.

 

Thor lifted her legs placing them over his shoulders opening her up for better access. He dragged his tongue up and down her slit taking a moment to pause and suckle her clitoris. Inserting a single finger to test her readiness, he could feel her muscles contracting tightly around his digit as if it were an intruder that needed to be stopped from advancing any further.

 

Hermione tried to remember how to breath. Her breathes staggered out unevenly as Thor inserted a second finger. His mouth released her clit so he could dip his tongue in between her folds mixing his saliva with her own arousal. It was uncomfortable, but not entirely unpleasant. Just unfamiliar. She had explored her body and sexuality on her own and with Cormac and Viktor, but never got this far. 

 

Thor rubbed the top of her thigh with his free hand trying to warm and relax her while his tongue and fingers continued their assault. She was so tight, but he was determined. They will fit together, but not without some pain at first for her. He wanted to minimize that as much as possible.

 

His free hand traveled back up her stomach smoothing over her side and squeezing her breast as his fingers brushed over her nipples until they pebbled before giving each one a healthy pinch. Hermione placed her hands on top of his gripping his fingers and began bucking her hips. Thor gripped her hip to steady her placing kisses along her taut stomach until he reached her pert breast.

 

He playfully bit the underside of her breast before teasing the rosy tip with his tongue. His mouth closed around her nipple suckling and tonguing it like it was a sweet. Hermione sighed in pleasure and held his head captive against her breast while he continued to lick and suckle her. Thor’s fingers never ceased only increasing the speed and friction determined to prepare her because if anything, Thor was a considerate and generous lover. 

 

Hermione’s breaths grew more uneven. “Thor…” she said his name breathlessly as he rubbed circles over her clit with his thumb. Her back arched lifting her off the bed. She could feel her inner muscles tightening and the tension building before cresting over the threshold. She gasped and flopped onto the bed. It was like a string snapped in her body and all the tension left her body in a rush. 

 

Thor lifted his head smiling at her. He kissed her languidly. He propped himself up with one hand careful not to crush her. His hand other couldn’t resist playing with her nipple. “We’ve only just begun. That was just a warm up.”

 

“Oh,” she said in her post orgasmic haze. “Right.” She glanced down at his erect cock and immediately sobered up. She had been avoiding eye contact with it. It was huge just like the rest of him. She swallowed nervously.   

 

His kissed down the column of her neck. “Are you scared?” It was a genuine question he asked after seeing the look on her face.

 

She shook her head not trusting herself to speak. 

 

Thor saw through the lie anyways. Rubbing his hands up and down her arms, he tried to reassure her. “Don’t be. I’ll take care of you. I’ll always take care of you,” Thor promised. He kissed her again sealing in the promise. Hermione opened her mouth allowing him to deepen the kiss. The sheer size of Thor was overwhelming to her. His entire body surrounded her engulfing her smaller frame. In that moment, within the confines of his bed and his larger body, she had never felt safer anywhere else.

 

Lifting her leg he bent it at the knee opening her up. Settling in between her thighs, he took his cock in his hand and gently rubbed it against her opening before pushing himself into her inch by inch. Her inner walls tensed and resisted the intrusion. Her entire body instinctively tried to pull away. Bracing her hands on his shoulder, she tried to push away from him.

 

“Hermione…” Thor’s labored breathing filled the room. It was obvious that his control and restraint came with great effort on his part. “Don’t fight,” he said gently, “don’t run, I’m not trying to hurt you.” But he was hurting her. He brushed his lips against hers. “Do you trust me?”

 

Hermione nodded, “yes,” she said breathlessly. She laid her head back and focused on the ceiling trying to force her body and mind to relax.

 

Thor said nothing. Placing his hands on her hips to keep her still, his thumbs rubbed soothing circles on her skin while he adjusted himself in between her legs. He carefully lifted her hips and breached her in a single stroke.

Her body tried to curl into itself, and she screamed into his shoulder. Thor stilled as well trying to adjust to her tight canal. He grunted burying his face into her hair. It had been way too long since he had been with a woman. Her cunt stretched forcibly to accommodate his enormous size, but not without protest.

 

“It hurts, Thor,” Hermione whispered. Her fingers dug into his biceps. Unbidden tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. She was sure that had she done this with one of the three boys she had been romantically involved with before that it would not hurt nearly as much. Thor wasn’t even human. He was a god and therefore had the anatomy of one.

 

“I know,” he kissed her tenderly, “but you’re doing so well.” He brushed some stray hair out of her face.

 

Hermione ever the overachiever accepted the praise, which only heightened her arousal. She felt herself open up a bit more allowing Thor to sink deeper into her. He pressed further until he was completely buried. Hermione’s breathing became heavy. She clung to Thor’s back and shoulders as if she were hanging off the edge of a cliff. Thor slipped his arm underneath the back of her head supporting her as he kissed her.

 

Thor groaned, “you have no idea how wonderful you feel, Hermione.” His other hand caressed her cheek brushing away the stray tears before sliding down her neck, breasts, and resting on her stomach. He felt the soft rise and fall of her diaphragm.“It’s like I’ve died and gone to Valhalla,” he said reverently. She was wet, hot, and tightly wrapped around his cock. 

 

Beneath him, Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and wondered why any woman would subject themselves to this. She was so full of him that she thought she might actually split in half.

 

“I’ll make it better. I promise.” He placed his thumb on her clit rubbing it back and forth. It gave her some respite from the pain until Thor started moving. He moved in and out of her slowly hushing her cries with comforting words. When that didn’t work, he kissed her instead swallowing her cries delving his tongue into her mouth. Soon he heard her breath hitch, and he knew then he could well and truly fuck her. 

 

And that was what he did. Palming her arse he slid his hand underneath her thigh lifting her leg and using it as leverage while he thrusted in and out of her at an inhuman pace. Her cries of discomfort soon turned into breathy moans as she lifted her hips to meet his powerful strokes. 

 

Thor canted his hips so his cock rubbed her clit with every stroke creating a bit of extra friction, which Hermione expressed her appreciation for in sighs and gasps. Releasing her mouth he bent down and nipped the tip of her breast tonguing it while he pinched her other nipple. Tugging on the tight bud firmly, he placed an open mouth kiss against her ear. “Say my name this time when you come,” he commanded.

 

Hermione whimpered in response. At this point she would have bludgeoned a small family of ferrets to death if Thor asked her to. 

 

He loved the idea of her screaming and panting his name while he manipulated her body with his hands, mouth, and cock until she achieved the most exquisite pleasure their shared biological evolution had given them. He selfishly wanted his name to the be the only name to leave her lips in this manner, but that was because Thor could be quite possessive sometimes. He also fell in love very easily especially with dark haired, strong willed women.

 

Her body twisted and writhed on the bed ready for release. She just needed a little bit more. A few more strokes, his fingers on her clit, and she was undone. “THOR!” she cried. Thor continued to fuck her into the bed while she panted and whimpered from the aftershock of her second orgasm. He gripped her hips holding her in place as he quickened his thrusts.

 

“Thor…” she whined tossing her head back and forth against the pillow. Her breathing became shallow as he pumped in and out of her with enough force to cause her lovely breasts to bounce in the most enticing way. His strength never waned, but they could both feel his control slipping as his thrusts became more frantic. She wrapped her slender legs around his waist. Gripping the back of her neck she pulled him closer. She wanted to feel all of him.

 

Finally his movements stilled. Burying his face in her neck he pressed himself deeper in her; he grunted as he emptied himself inside of her.

 

He exhaled audibly. “That was good,” he kissed her sleepy face, “you were so good.”

 

Hermione groaned releasing him and burying her face in a pillow. 

 

Thor chuckled and slid out of her. Hermione felt the sticky wetness from his release mixed with her own juices seeping out of her opening and coating her inner thighs. She clamped her legs shut feeling suddenly bereft.

 

Thor got up and disappeared into the ensuite bathroom returning with a warm, damp washcloth and a glass of water.

 

He handed the glass to her. She sat up and accepted it with both hands. The glass shook a little in her hands. Her limbs felt like jelly.

 

“Thank you,” she said hoarsely before taking a generous gulp. 

 

Thor carefully pressed the wet washcloth in between her legs cleaning the mess. When he was done, he set aside the washcloth on the nightstand. Taking the water glass from her, he downed the rest of it before laying down beside her. 

 

She laid on her stomach with an eye cracked opened at him.

 

“I know you’re tired. You should rest.” She shivered when his fingers ghosted down her spine resting his hand on her lower back.

 

“I’m not tired..” she protested fighting back a yawn. She wanted to remember everything about this moment.

 

Just for that he smacked her bottom lightly for lying to him. “Yes you are.”

 

Hermione squeaked, “how are you not tired? You practically did all the work.”

 

Thor laughed,“I’m a god,” he said simply, “my stamina is unmatched.”

 

Hermione giggled, “I never thought I’d be one of those girls.”

 

“What do you mean?” For a moment he was concerned that she regretted what just happened, but the sleepy, satisfied smile on her face quelled that thought. 

 

She rolled over onto her back groaning from the simple movement. She pulled the sheet over her tired and sore body much to Thor’s disappointment. He preferred her bare and exposed.

 

“Those naive, innocent maidens I read about in mythology. A god descends from the heavens and seduces them.”  _ Then leaves them alone to face the wrath of their wives.  _

 

“I seem to remember that it was you that snuck into my room in the middle of the night wearing a nightgown with nothing else underneath.”

 

She rolled over onto her side propping her head up with her elbow. “And I remember that you were already completely starkers underneath the sheets,” her eyes narrowed at him, “maybe you were waiting for me.”

 

Thor chuckled. He had been waiting for her. He just didn’t know it until she appeared through the fog that morning. “I’m in my own home. I like to be in my natural state. How do I know you didn’t transform into a beautiful wolf only to come into my home and seduce me?” Thor teased. “You did expose yourself to me during our first meeting.” He grinned thinking back to that day,

 

Hermione rolled onto her stomach covering her face in embarrassment. “I was so terrified when I first saw you! I just wanted to appease you so you wouldn’t hack me to death with your giant axe…” 

 

Thor laughed. It was hard to imagine her being afraid of anything after everything she had been through. “I still maintain that you transformed into a creature so magnificent and captivating that I couldn’t help but want to take home with me.” He gave her arse another playful smack. 

 

Unamused, Hermione rolled onto her back. “Right. The curse, it was a ploy to seduce you. You poor, unsuspecting..beautiful…” Hermione’s breath hitched as she looked over at Thor, who was shamelessly stretched out naked beside her. No one should look so perfect. “You know most people wouldn’t welcome a wolf into their home?” she said unknowingly echoing the same concern from Natasha and Bruce.

 

“So everyone keeps telling me.” He stared up at the ceiling smiling. He turned his head sideways facing her, “but I’m so happy that I did.” His smile widened when she threw off the sheet and straddled his hips.

 

“Me too.” She was going to hate herself for this in the morning.


	18. Chapter 18

The sun had not set yet. If Thor had to guess, it was mid to late afternoon when he was woken up in the most pleasant manner. Looking down, he saw Hermione assiduously fellating and pumping his cock with her mouth and hands. Her hair fell around her face as she worked. Tossing her hair to the side she made eye contact with him briefly before shyly dropping her gaze and refocusing on her task at hand.

 

They were alone in the grassy meadow where they had first met in Norway. The grass was warm and soft from the sun. One fist digging into the ground and another fisting her wild hair, Thor began to thrust into her warm perfect mouth. He was admittedly a little rough fucking her face, perhaps a little impatient. They had spent that early afternoon making love in the open air and then touching and learning each other’s bodies until they fell into an afternoon slumber.

 

Thor groaned. One final thrust and he finished spilling into her willing mouth. She graciously accepted and swallowed discreetly. Wiping the corners of mouth with the back of her hand, she crawled up his naked body subtly rubbing herself against him. Lifting his arm, she tucked herself comfortably by his side while he secured his arms around her.

 

“Where did you learn how to do that?” he asked tilting her head up at him.

 

She smiled coyly, “it’s actually quite intuitive.” 

 

Thor laughed.  _ This little witch.  _ He cupped the curve of her arse giving it a firm squeeze. But before he could kiss her, she sat up and made a face. “Although, I do fancy a drink of water.” She grabbed his red cape. Wrapping it around herself she said, “I’ll be back in a moment.” 

 

Thor watched as she headed off toward the woods where the stream was. He grabbed his trousers and slipped them on deciding to follow her, but as soon as he entered the woods the sun disappeared behind the clouds. The overcast skies combined with the closely knitted trees limited visibility, but he easily spotted her still cloaked in his bright red cape walking towards a spreading mist that grew thicker and more ominous  by the minute.

 

“Hermione,” he called out to her. “Let’s go back.”

 

She turned around to face him before dropping the cloak. She stood there naked staring back at him. “This is the way back,” she said before transforming into a wolf.

 

Thor opened his mouth, “Ylva.” It felt almost a lifetime ago since he last saw her like this.

 

She sniffed the air. Her ears perked up before she turned running into the dense fog. Thor took off after her.

 

“Ylva?!” Thor panicked when she completely disappeared from his sight. “Where are you?!” he bellowed. 

 

He scanned his surroundings. The fog grew denser and thicker until he could no longer see in front of him. Surrounded by grey he screamed, “HERMIONE!”

 

Thor opened his eyes again. It was morning, and he was lying on his bed back at the compound. He exhaled in relief when he saw Hermione on the other side of the bed getting dressed.

 

Hermione slipped on her nightgown and turned around to find Thor awake and watching her. “Hi,” she said shyly.

 

“Hi. Were you going to slip away while I was still asleep?” He kept his tone light, but his mind kept drifting back to that dream. It was unsettling. The last time he had a dream like that Asgard burned to the ground before exploding like a supernova.

 

“No,” she quickly shook her head. “I just remembered that I was going to meet with Dr. Banner this morning.” She walked around to his side of the bed. 

 

“This early?”

 

She just had unprotected sex. Multiples times. This was an emergency. “Yes.” She gave him a peck on the lips intending to make a quick getaway, but Thor took that moment to wrap his arms around her waist trapping her against him.

 

“Thor!” Hermione fell awkwardly onto his lap. He silenced her protest with a deep kiss that made Hermione rethink leaving his bed so early or ever for that matter. 

 

He brushed the wayward hair out of her face pushing it behind her neck before releasing her mouth and placing slow, deliberate kisses along her jaw, neck, and collarbone. “You don’t regret what happened last night?” he asked in between kisses. His voice husky and deep, there wasn’t anything Thor looked forward to more after a night of fucking than morning sex.

 

“No,” she said without hesitation. “It was perfect” she sighed. She was glad she at least put on some clothing. She needed protection. Flimsy protection Thor could shred in seconds, but she wasn’t worried about him.

 

Eager to erase the dream from his mind, Thor gently laid her on her back. He covered her body possessively with his. Grasping her hands and pinning her to the mattress while his mouth continued its conquest down her body. 

 

Hermione gasped,“it was better than anything I could have imagined.”

 

Thor pressed his mouth along her exposed neckline. “Really? Do tell,” he encouraged as he brushed his lips against her nipples. They hardened against the thin fabric of her nightgown beckoning him.   

 

Hermione moaned as he sucked her nipple teasing it through the cloth.“I’m really….” she struggled against him trying to free her hands, “glad it happened with you and not-” She stopped herself. Her entire body went rigid at the thought of it.  _ A Death Eater gang bang _ .

 

Thor paused and lifted his head when he felt her body freeze underneath him. The old Thor would not have seen through the flattery. “Why would you say that? I understand the inexperience of youth can be…” Thor struggled for the right word. Those years were long past him, “awkward, but sex is generally pretty amazing.” Said someone who had only ever had sex with the most attractive and most willing of participants.

 

“Unless it is used to torture and strip you of your dignity and power. Literally.” That may be what Ginny and Luna went through everyday. Their bodies violated by disgusting men like Carrow, Dolohov, Greyback, while she laid safely in Thor’s bed.

 

“What happened?” His grip around her tightened.

 

“Nothing,” Hermione replied quickly, “because I escaped.” 

 

Hermione should had known better by now that such a half-assed answer would not satisfy Thor. He inhaled deeply releasing her hands he propped himself up but gave her no room to escape. “Hermione…” he started. He had been afraid of this. He had seen enough and experienced enough war to know how prisoners were treated.

 

“You know I haven’t been touched before.” That came out a bit more defensively than she intended.

 

Thor narrowed his eyes. That was both a relief to him and strange. “And you know it would not have made a difference to me if you had been.” He cupped her cheek thumb stroking her petal soft skin.“Tell me. What happened?”

 

She turned her head avoiding his gaze.“Why? You’re only going to get angry,” Hermione huffed. “It’s in the past now. There’s no one out there for you to kill on my behalf. At least in this world.”

 

Thor sighed. “I just want us to be able to speak of matters that are difficult.” He and Jane couldn’t do that. “So we can confront them together.”

 

She nodded. Cupping the back of his head she silently commanded him to lower himself so she could place a soft kiss on his lips. “One day. I promise. Now let me up.” She wriggled around trying to free herself.

 

Thor relented and let her go.

* * *

Hermione stood outside of Bruce’s office. Ten minutes passed, and she was still not quite ready to go in yet. So she took a step back in surprise when the door suddenly slid opened revealing Bruce sitting at his desk.

 

“Hi Hermione,” he greeted, “did you want to see me?”

 

“Um..”

 

“There are cameras everywhere by the way.” He turned his computer monitor around to show her the screenshot of her standing in the hallway outside of his office.

 

She wasn’t nearly as creeped out by that as with the artificial intelligence system that monitored them at all times. That she will never get used to.

 

“You’ve been outside my door sometime. Is there something I can help you with?”

 

She continued to hover by the door. “Er...do you have..um...may I have a morning after pill?” she asked in a low voice.

 

“Hmm? I’m sorry?” He leaned forward a little as he took a sip of his morning coffee.

 

“Morning after pill,” she said a little louder and more clearly. She had weighed the pros and cons of asking Bruce for the pill versus potentially carrying Thor’s accidental baby to term and this very uncomfortable conversation just barely edged ahead of teenage pregnancy.

 

Bruce choked on the scalding liquid. “What?” he croaked.

 

Hermione’s face reddened. “Please don’t make me ask again! I...I  was going to ask Dr. Cho, but she’s so weird about Thor…”

 

“It was Thor?” Bruce’s eyes widened almost comically. He didn’t need to know that, but it was obvious. The age difference made him uncomfortable. Really uncomfortable. He thought it was inappropriate, but decided to keep that opinion to himself as that was not his place.

 

Tony was right. Bruce was not on board with this. She about faced and walked away.

 

“Hermione! Wait!” Bruce got up hastily. “Come back,” he called after her.

 

Hermione stopped. Closing her eyes, she reluctantly backtracked into his office.

 

“Please have a seat.” He gestured the empty chair opposite his desk. “I’m sorry,” he apologized, “I have forgotten my manners and sense of professionalism.” He inwardly cursed himself for making this more awkward than it needed to be. 

 

Hermione sat down and watched as he dug around the cabinets for the medication. They were in his office at the medical wing. 

 

While he wasn’t sure if Thor being a god and Hermione being a witch made them biologically different enough to be incapable of producing viable offspring, the last thing he needed was a pregnant teenager on their hands.  _ Better be safe than sorry _ , he thought. He found some unexpired Plan B samples behind a box of condoms, which he decided were useless to give her since he doubted they made them in Thor’s size anyways. He grimaced. Now he couldn’t purge the image of Thor struggling with a condom out of his mind. He shuddered as he poured a glass of water for her and handed it to her with the pill. He would feel better if he saw her take it. “So this...uhh was less than 72 hours ago?”

 

Hermione nodded. “Thank you.” She took the pill and chugged the entire glass of water.

 

“Um...so I don’t know what forms of birth control and sex education they teach you at…” Bruce was at a loss of words.  _ Did birth control work the same for witches and wizards? She is human...  _ He was afraid to ask.

 

“Hogwarts,” she supplied helpfully. “My mum is a very progressive woman. She gave me the lecture on safe sex and everything when I turned fourteen.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear steadfastly avoiding eye contact.

 

Bruce’s face visibly relaxed. “Oh good. That’s very good. But there have been some great advances in birth control in the last few decades several types of implants, inserts, shots,” he said as he sat back down in his chair. “Women don’t even need to take a daily pill anymore to prevent unwanted pregnancy. I uh...have some brochures you can look at and decide what is best for you,” Bruce said in his professional doctor voice.

 

“Oh,” Hermione laughed nervously. “That won’t be necessary. It was a…” not a mistake, “it won’t happen again.” Her own words triggered a wave of conflicting emotions. She smiled hoping to trick her face into not crying in front of Bruce.

 

Bruce sensed something was wrong and deliberated on whether or not to pry. “You know, there’s nothing wrong with um….” he began, “you’re a young adult woman..”  

 

“I know.” Hermione mercifully interjected. She took a deep breath. “Things between Thor and I are complicated.”

 

“Do you...do you want to talk about it?” 

 

Hermione shook her head. Her eyes trained on the ground. “No.” She might lose her composure if she spoke about it.

 

Bruce did want to help, but he accepted that she didn’t want it at this time. Plus he wasn’t equipped to handle stuff like this. He hoped that she was still seeing Dr. Blake. “Okay, just know you can always come to me for anything. Alright?”

 

“There is something else though.” She looked up meeting his gaze.

 

“What is it?”

 

“It’s about the time turner. I’d like to build one with you and Tony.”

 

* * *

Thor grinned at his comrades. He was in a much better mood now. “Are we done already? That was quick.”

 

Natasha shot him a look. Gripping her side and breathing deeply she said,“not everyone is fortunate enough to be born into an immortal warrior race with bulletproof skin.” She pushed herself up off the floor. Thor had thrown her across the room during a scrimmage and somehow her skeleton was still intact. 

 

Thor was happy to be back in the compound. It was always much more fun to spar with others than training alone in the middle of ocean or on top of a mountain. 

 

“Is your skin really bulletproof?” Steve asked. He shoved the slab of concrete off of himself before standing and dusting himself off. A small part of the ceiling had caved in on him when Barton shot off one of his detonating arrows. Normally they were not suppose to train indoors with certain weapons, but they needed to even the playing field against an unarmed Thor.

 

“Yeah, I never miss,” Clint answered for Thor. Bent over panting Clint was the only one with unaltered human DNA and more importantly he was getting old. Still bent over, he loaded another magazine in his glock and shot Thor’s arm. The bullet ricocheted off unnoticed by Thor almost hitting Natasha. “Sorry Nat..”

 

“It’s okay,” Natasha was already treating her scrapes and cuts using the first aid kit kept inside the training room. “We were just surprised that you wanted to join us today, Thor.”

 

“And you are always welcome,” Steve said despite the glares both Natasha and Clint were throwing behind his back.

 

The light flickered catching their attention. “I’ve been told to inform you that Stark and Banner are calling a meeting in the east wing conference room in approximately fifteen minutes,” the AI announced. “It is of the utmost importance that you all attend.” 

 

“We can go after we’ve finish training,” Thor said dismissively. That was merely a warm up for him.

 

“Oh, we’re done here,” Clint said with finality lest they drive up the already exorbitant insurance premiums Stark was already paying for the building. “Come on, let’s see what Stark wants.”

 

None of them had time to shower, so they arrived sweaty and beaten, except for Thor of course.

 

Thor was not surprised to see Hermione sitting at the head of the table flanked by Banner and Stark, but he was curious as to what they had discussed and why it needed to involve all of them.

 

The door shut and locked behind them. All the blinds descended covering the windows.

 

“Top secret meeting. Nothing leaves this room,” Tony explained. “Muffin?” he gestured to the spread of breakfast delights at the center of the table.

 

“What did you call us in here for, Tony?” Steve didn’t even spare a glance at the delectable bounty Tony had ordered.

 

“I didn’t call this meeting. Hermione did.”

 

Hermione stood up thinking she would look more authoritative standing. She cleared her throat. “Yes, thank you all for coming.” A memory of herself heading the first Dumbledore’s Army meeting at Hog Head’s came to her mind. Except these were all trained killers not idealistic youths with a penchant for trouble.

 

“Please help yourselves to these pastries,” Tony interjected. “They’re from Dominique Ansel’s bakery.” No one cared. “Seriously, we’re still waiting for Wong.”

 

Just as he said that a great big screeching black hole opened in the ceiling depositing Wong from some evil dark dimension. He quickly closed the opening silencing the shrieks. “Sorry, I’m late,” he brushed off the debris from his clothes. He didn’t offer any further explanation. “Hi Hermione,” he gave her a curt nod.

 

“Hi Wong. Thank you for coming.” She wanted to ask where he came from, but decided that it was none of her business.

 

Wong grabbed two donuts and a muffin before taking a seat. “These for everyone?” he asked as he chewed. He was met with blank stares.

 

“So Mr. Sta - Tony and I have been discussing a matter that is of grave importance,” Hermione continued trying to get them back on track. “You have all been so welcoming to me and so helpful.” She looked across the room and her eyes met Thor’s briefly. He offered her a small smile causing her cheeks to warm. “My stay here has been so wonderful because of all of you. I’d like to do something in return.” She looked down at the table as if her notes and cues were written on the shiny reflective surface. “Something that I think will be a great help to everyone.” She took a deep breath, “I think I can build a device that can undo everything Thanos has done.”

 

_ 12 Hours earlier _

 

_ “Now’s the time to act,” said Loki, “Thanos has hung up his armor, laid down his gauntlet. He’s in mourning.” _

 

_ “I have hard time believing someone like Thanos, who goes around decimating populations, would have the emotional capacity to mourn someone.” _

 

_ “Thanos believed himself to have committed those atrocities out of altruism - to prevent further suffering. He believed in doing what was necessary for the greater good. The outcome always justified his actions no matter how heinous they were. So much that he sacrificed his own daughter in order to obtain one of the stones. The soul stone would not have been granted to him unless he felt a genuine loss.” _

 

_ “So why not just steal the stones then?”   _

 

_ “Because none of you including Thor has the power to wield all six. Thanos is an Eternal and even he has issues wielding such power, hence why he took off his armor. It’s an overwhelming responsibility to play god like he has.” _

 

_ “Then is he omniscient like God? He’s in possession of the mind stone, does that allow him to know the thoughts of every being in the universe?” Hermione had been agnostic most of her life, but she was not arrogant enough to believe she had all the answers. “Won’t he know we’re planning this?” _

 

_ “Imagine trillions of voices inside your head. Wouldn’t that make you go mad..Er. He’s actually already known as the Mad Titan. I digress, he may grow into these powers with time, but right now they are still new to him. That is why you must act now. And we have a means to distract him.” Hela was currently paying him a visit. Turns out you cannot kill the Goddess of Death. She was a vengeful bitch and had a score to settle with her ex lover. _

 

_ “This is mad! Tempering with time? This plan has a high probability of failure. If he’s distracted now then it makes more sense to take the stones from him. We don’t need to travel back in time to do that.” _

 

_ “Even if one of you were able to harness the power of all six, it is much easier to destroy life than it is to create it,” Loki continued. “I can guarantee that a snap of your fingers will not bring back half of the universe. And besides don’t you want to go back to your world?” _

 

_ “Going back would be just be the first hurdle. I’d still have to face Voldemort. By myself.” _

 

_ Loki rolled his eyes. “Good thing you would be going back with the time turner.”  _

 

_ Hermione knew he was right. That was what she needed. Time. Time to figure out how to defeat Voldemort. Time to save everyone else. Time to figure out how to separate his soul from Harry’s. Knowing what she knew now and having the ability to go back a year or longer could change the outcome of the war in their favor. It was dangerous and reckless altering timelines, but it was still her best shot at saving her world.  _

 

Tony flicked a densely folded piece of paper at Hermione hitting her in the ear.

 

She came back to the present moment and shot him a glare.

 

He had noticed her zoning out. Her eyes had glazed over, and he wasn’t sure if she was sleeping with her eyes open or daydreaming about Thor’s abs. “Pay attention,” he mouthed.

 

“Thor and I have both faced Thanos before he acquired all six stones. Even then he was unstoppable. The way I see it, there’s only one thing we can do. We go back in time and get to these Infinity Stones before he does,” Bruce said.

 

Steve raised his hand to protest.“That’s all well and good, but what do we with them? He’ll still come after us. He’ll kill every one of us to get to them.”

 

“Thank you Captain Obvious,” Tony said, “that’s why we invited Wong.”

 

“Huh?” Wong looked up from the assortment of breakfast foods he was still casually grazing on. 

 

“We had an idea,” Hermione said looking at Wong. “What if we sent them to another universe.” 

 

Wong folded his arms over his chest. Shaking his head, he said, “no. Doing such a thing would disrupt another universe. It could be catastrophic.”

“Sorry, but I only care about the welfare of ours,” said Tony.

 

Hermione pressed on,“Wong, you know this is our best chance. You said so yourself once two universes lose contact it’s nearly impossible recover that pathway. Thanos would never be able to recover that stone.” 

 

“We don’t have to send all six of them into different universes,” Bruce suggested. “Only you can do this. Just try and pick one that would have the least impact. Like a universe that is just a vacuum or any empty ocean or something.”

 

Wong bowed his head contemplating the pros and cons. “I’ll do it as long as we are allowed to keep the time stone.”

 

“That’s fair. We don’t have to destroy all of them, right guys?” Tony glanced around the table pretending to consider everyone’s input even though he had already decided for the team. “Just a few so no one can ever use all six. Then you can keep your sacred vow to protect the time stone or whatever.”

 

“What about the other ones?” Natasha asked.

 

“We’ll leave the soul stone alone. Unless one of you is willing to kill someone you love just to get it so we can destroy it. Any takers?” Tony got a few eyerolls and annoyed looks. 

 

Bruce picked up where Tony left off. “We steal the power stone in Xandar and dispose of it in another universe. Same with the reality stone Thor stored in Knowhere. The tesseract we can hold onto until we circle back to our time and have Wanda destroy it. Obviously we’re not going to kill Vision, but just to be safe we will need Shuri to extract the mind stone.”

 

“I don’t know about this.” Steve crossed his arms expressing his consternation. “It’s too risky. You heard what Hermione said about those who tamper with time.”

  
For full disclosure purposes, Hermione had enlightened them all about Eloise Mintumble. A witch that accidentally traveled back 500 years and served as a cautionary tale against time travel. She didn’t want them to go into this without knowing the risk. They were all of course horrified.

 

“We would be saving the other half of the universe. Of course we have to do this. Do you ever lie awake and wonder why we were so lucky? Why we were spared?”

 

“Every night.” That was true. Steve thought about Bucky every night and how cosmically unfair their lives turned out to be. Steve got the super soldier serum. Bucky got brainwashed. Steve survived the snap; Bucky didn’t.

 

“Me too,” Tony said.“Sure it was probably just statistical, but I feel as survivors we need to do something. We all lost someone that was important to us.”

 

“Thanos thought he was doing good as well,” Steve subtly countered. “Are we better than him?”

 

“You said it yourself. We’re not perfect, but the safest hands are still our own.”

 

Steve’s eyebrows raised slightly.“I’m surprised you remember that.”

 

Tony shrugged. “Well, you know. I am listening even when you think I’m not.”

 

Steve finally cracked a smile.

 

“Save it for couples’ therapy guys,” Clint quipped. “I need details. This is perhaps the most delicate, complicated, not mention most insane mission we’ve ever undertaken. We need to be smart about this. We need to be detailed as fuck.”

 

“Language! You’re offending Cap.” Tony cupped his hands protectively over Steve’s ears. “Chill. Here, have a cronut.” Tony tossed the pastry in the air and Clint managed to catch it without crushing its buttery layers. “We’re getting to it. Thor? You have anything to add? You’ve been kinda quiet over there.”

 

Thor only wanted to know one thing.“When do I kill Thanos?”

 

“When we catch up back to our time. If everything goes according to plan the whole team will be alive and Thanos won’t have any of the stones unless he chooses to kill his daughter again,” Bruce answered. “We’ll have a better shot a killing him this time.”

 

“That’s not going to work for me. I’m being presented with an opportunity to save my people. I’m going to take it. I’m going to kill him before he kills a single Asgardian.”

 

“Relax. We’ll save them without killing Thanos,” Tony reassured Thor. “Even that dipshit you call a brother since we need the tesseract.”

 

“Careful, Stark,” Thor growled.

 

Tony brushed off the warning. “Hermione, the plan. Lay it on us.” 

 

All eyes were on her as Hermione laid out the plan her and Loki came up with the night before. It was a shame he was such a nefarious condescending git because she appreciated his brilliant mind.

 

“We want to minimize the damage to the timeline. We need to be discreet and remain unseen. Any interaction with anyone in the past will jeopardize the future. That means we need to figure out how many people we absolutely have to send back and not one more.”

 

They decided that Hermione, Thor, Tony, and Wong will go. Hermione because her magic was needed to activate the time turner and to help avoid detection. Thor because he wasn’t going to let Hermione go without him, and only he can touch the infinity stones without disintegrating. Tony because well they were going on a space adventure and needed someone who can keep them alive in space. Wong because his sorcery was their insurance to get them out of tight spots, plus only he can dispose of the two infinity stones they were going after. 

 

“We will divide up into two teams. Thor and Wong you will go to Xandar and steal the power stone. While Thanos’ ship is enroute to Xandar, Hermione and I will sneak onto Thanos ship. You confident you can ghost us onto his ship?” Tony asked Hermione.

 

Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes.“It’s called Apparition,” she corrected, “and yes.” She will have to practice it a lot over the next couple of months as they prepare for the mission.

 

“I will create a large enough maintenance problem to stall the ship for weeks, so that your people will have enough time to make it to Earth. We’ll rendezvous at Knowhere where will we send off the reality stone and remain in one of the abandoned mines until we come back to our present time. We’ll keep a close eye on Thanos whereabouts. Questions?”   

 

“So I don’t get to kill Thanos?”

 

“No, Thor. I’ve explained this. We don’t want a potential baby Hitler paradox. It’s more prudent to wait at least until you’ve returned to the present,” Bruce cautioned.

 

“Isn’t that just a theory? No one has ever actually traveled back in time and killed baby Hitler,” Natasha pointed out. 

 

“No, Dr. Banner is right, we should minimize our actions as much as possible. Stealing the power stone and delaying his ship will already cause a lot of unforeseen consequences,” Hermione contended. “We’re just hoping they’re in our favor.”

 

“There is one more thing you are omitting.” Thor fixed his gaze on Hermione. “What about our meeting?”

 

Hermione blinked and looked away.“I have already come up with a plan.” 

 

They waited for her to say more, but she was not forthcoming with the details.

 

“Are you going to share it with us?” Steve prompted.

 

Thor sensed that she wasn’t telling them everything by her body language. Actually everyone picked up on that. “It’s no big deal. I’ll just use the bifrost to transport myself to Norway on October 31st, kill those giant spiders. I did it once, and I can do it again.” 

 

“There’s no need.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “To kill them. It’s completely unnecessary. They’re afraid of a creature called a basilisk. It’s a great big serpent. I can use my magic to transform a boulder or a tree into a something resembling a basilisk and scare them back into my universe.”

 

“That would change  _ our  _ timeline,” Thor noted suspiciously. “Something you cautioned against. And what about Ylva? She’s going be scared and run back in the other direction as well. I have to be there to save her. To save you.”

 

“No,” Hermione shook her head. “I’m going to save myself. I’m going back, Thor.”

 

And there it was Thor thought, she planned on leaving him.  _ “What?” _

 

“I have to. My friends need me.”

 

“Did you know about this?” Thor cast an accusatory glare at Tony.

 

“Thor-”

 

“You cannot go back. I will not allow it!” Thor stood up abruptly knocking over his chair.

 

Hermione flinched as the chair fell over with a loud bang. The last time Thor was angry his house burned down, and she nearly died. At least she wasn’t alone this time.

 

Thor’s outburst created a tension that weighed on the room making everyone else uncomfortable.

 

“I think you guys need to talk this over.”

 

“Let’s give them some space.”

 

“It’s lunchtime anyways.”

 

“Yeah, we’re gonna go now.”

 

Everyone but Thor and Hermione cleared out of the room.

 

Hermione stayed seated at the head of the table across from Thor. Placing his hands on the table, he leaned against the surface. The room was so quiet that they could hear the table groan and creak under the weight of Thor. He was not happy about this. He was furious.

 

“When were you going to tell me?” His voice was surprisingly calm and even. That itself was more unsettling than the rage she witnessed firsthand when he thought she was Loki.

 

Hermione opened her mouth. “I…” If she were honest she would tell him that she planned on creating a portkey and disappearing after Knowhere.

 

“Your silence is telling.”

 

“I’m sorry, Thor.” She didn’t know what else to say. A very tense silence followed. 

 

“I’ll go with you,” Thor said decisively.

 

“You can’t. Your people need you,” Hermione said sadly.

 

In that moment he was angry at her for putting him in such a difficult position.“Why go back? These people will never accept you.”

 

“And yours will? Your brother has repeatedly said I wasn’t good enough for you!” That bothered her a lot more than she wanted to admit.

 

“Loki said that?” He actually wasn’t surprised. “He is definitely not representative of the majority.”

 

“I have friends that need me. You would do the same.”

 

She was right, but that didn’t mean he was going to let her go. “Even if you manage to kill this Voldemort, there will be others like him. You can’t just erase this type of prejudice. Humans are petty that way.”

 

“I’m human! Then you know how important it is for me to stand up to him and the others that will follow. Someone has to.”

 

Thor’s anger softened a bit.“But not you. Stay,” his eyes quietly pleaded. “Stay here with me. Where it is safe.”

 

“Safe?” Hermione almost laughed. “Your world has a monster that killed half the universe’s population with the snap of his fingers.”

 

“Not if we succeed. What will he do to you when you confront him and his followers? You still won’t speak of it. Whatever fate you managed to escape from, it will be waiting for you back there.”

 

Hermione buried her face in her hands. She didn’t have a plan beyond getting home. She still had to practice her magic, create an impossible time turner, sort out the arithmancy and charms for said time turner.

 

“And you’re still not going tell me, are you?” Thor’s tone went from angry to cold.

 

Not looking at him she shook her head, “no.” It would only make him more angry and reaffirm his stance on her leaving. 

 

When Hermione looked up she found herself alone in the conference room. She slumped back into her chair. She was going to be to sleeping alone in her room tonight.

 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: The story of Eloise Mintumble is on Pottermore. Basically she was a witch living in 1899 that got stuck in 1402 for five days. When she came back, she aged 500 years and died. Also anyone she interacted with in 1402 were also adversely impacted. There’s also an essay from J.K. Rowling about the time turner. Also, I don’t know how many of you subscribe to Vox, but they have a video and article about Baby Hitler and Time Travel if you are interested.


	19. Chapter 19

 

 

Back at the New York Sanctorum, Hermione had read about astral forms from the books Wong lent her. Those same books contained information on how to recover memories through intensive meditation. With Wong’s coaching she was now able to access her mind like a pensieve. Every book she ever read unlocked providing her with exactly what she needed to master her magic again and recall the details of how to construct a time turner. 

 

She sketched out diagrams of the magical device surprising herself at how accurate the pictures looked. She also transcribed passages to show Tony and Bruce.

 

Tony appalled that she stopped at year six maths immediately outlined an extensive list of topics in order of difficulty for her to study. “Luckily, we’re in the information age now,” he said, “my alma mater publishes all their lectures recorded live on the internet along with their powerpoint slides. You also have me, Bruce, Cho, and my AI system. Her name is Friday by the way. I want you studying every day. Friday will be quizzing you and giving you exams too.”

 

Hermione did just that. She dedicated herself to studying eight, nine, ten hours a day using Friday as her personal tutor. She hoped the lessons in physics and advanced mathematics could help solve the issue with the time turner, traveling beyond three hours. Something no wizard or witch had been able to do at least not by accident anyways. She missed learning so much. The war had taken so much from her. Her family and friends, but also the normalcy of being a student. Children were supposed to learn and play not go horcrux hunting and fighting bad wizards.

 

If she wasn’t studying or meditating, she was actively practicing her magic growing stronger and more proficient as the days went by. Most of all her busy schedule kept her mind off of Thor. At the end of the day she would just collapse into bed and fall straight asleep.

 

* * *

 

Thor was on his way over to Stark’s lab when he heard a soft mew from behind. He halted and scanned the empty hallway. He almost missed it. A tiny kitten poked its head out of the corner before shrinking out of sight. Thor rounded the corner. His loud thundering footsteps scared the kitten. It scurried away trying to put as much distance between them. Thor almost pursued it, but then he remembered what he learned about the Midgardian custom of keeping pets. It probably belonged to someone, so he continued on his way.

 

Not long after, he heard another cry. He turned around and it was the same kitten, an orange tabby with a striped pattern all over except for its little paws, which were white. Like it was wearing little socks. It froze as soon as it was noticed by Thor. Smiling and shaking his head he continued down the hallway to Stark’s lab while the kitten continued stalking him from a safe distance.

 

Thor saw from the corner of his eye that the kitten whether out of curiosity or bravery had crept much closer. As soon as he reached Stark’s door he turned abruptly. Swooping down with his arm he snatched up the kitten with a single hand. It mewed and started gnawing on his thumb. Grinning he crossed into the laboratory space and was greeted by an odd sight. 

 

“Hey Thor, whatcha got there?” Tony looked up from the drafts Hermione had drew for him. Beneath the table curled up on his jacket was a sleeping puppy. 

 

Steve was also there leaning against a lab bench where a tortoise the size of a dictionary sat being hand fed apple slices that Steve had carefully prepared.

 

“I found this adorable creature stalking the halls. Where did you get your animals?” Thor asked.

 

“This morning during breakfast. Hermione was practicing her magic,” Steve answered, “she transformed all our coffee mugs into different animals. I got a tortoise,” he said nonchalantly.

 

“Yeah, and I got this little guy.” Tony held up the sleepy golden retriever puppy. He looked to be about three months old. “I haven’t come up with a name yet. It needs to be perfect like him.”

 

“Well, we don’t know if the magic is permanent,” Steve said gently petting his tortoise’s head with a single finger. “Best not to name them.” Except he had already secretly named his tortoise Earl.

 

“Shh…” Tony covered the puppy’s ears hugging him to his chest. “I’m never letting you go,” he whispered. “Anyways, Bruce got a guinea pig. Romanov got a hedgehog. But what is really neat is this. Come here. I’ll show ya.” Tony placed his puppy on a scientific scale. It read 348.6 grams. “Now give me your kitten.”

 

Thor reluctantly handed over his new friend. It mewed in protest.The kitten sat on the scale as the numbers populated to 348.6 grams before hopping off. Thor caught it before it tried to jump off the table that was still a little too high off the ground for such a small kitten.

 

“See. Your little ginger furball is actually a coffee mug. I weighed all of them, including Cap’s turtle-”

 

“Tortoise,” Steve corrected.

 

“They all weighed the equivalent of an empty coffee mug,” Tony demonstrated placing the coffee mug on the scale. “I had thought the scale was broken, but it read other stuff accurately. I even tried other scales, but it was the same. Isn’t that incredible? The law of conservation of mass somehow still applies! My mind is blown.” He made a sound for effect. “How is that even possible?!”

 

Both Thor and Steve were too preoccupied with their animal companions to really care about this discovery. 

 

“Hm?” Thor said blankly. He held the kitten in one hand letting it nibble on his finger. It grasped the length of his other hand with all four of its tiny paws. 

 

Tony exhaled a long petulant sigh,“you guys are lame. I wish Bruce were here instead of hanging out with his girlfriend.” 

 

“I think it’s good that Nat and Bruce spend time together,” Steve commented. “They have a lot of lost time to make up for.”

 

“Speaking of girlfriends, you and Hermione. Sort out your drama yet? Cause I don’t want any discord that can jeopardize this mission. Seriously.” 

 

Thor sighed, “what did you call me here for, Stark?” he asked not answering his question.

 

“I’m sending you on a little space adventure. The time turner we’re building is made up of two components.” Tony waved his hand and a three dimensional holographic diagram of Hermione’s sketch appeared in mid air. “Metal and sand. We’re going to use vibranium of course, but it won’t hurt to try other metals too that aren’t found here on Earth. Friday already ran through the periodic table and none of them will be as effective as vibranium. Oh and sand. We need sand that has ‘magical properties’ whatever that means,” Tony said reading off of Hermione’s notes. “Just bring us a couple of samples from a far off galaxy somewhere that we can use to melt down into glass.”

 

“Is that all?” Thor asked not looking at Tony. He was too busy cuddling with his kitten. He lifted it belly up. It was a little tomcat. “I shall call you Tore,” he said ignoring whatever else Tony was saying.

 

* * *

 

“Where exactly are we going to get the vibranium?” Steve asked after Thor left. He picked up Earl and set him on the floor so he could walk around.  He took two steps before retracting his legs leaving just his head poking out of the shell. “I can call Shuri,” he offered. He hadn’t spoken to her since T’Challa’s funeral and had been meaning to reach out.

 

“Who?”

 

“She’s T’Challa’s younger sister and now queen of Wakanda.”

 

“You sure have friends in high places, but that’s not necessary. We only need a small amount.” He knew how guarded the Wakandans were about their vibranium. As they should be.

 

“You’re not thinking of taking it from Vision’s body are you?” Steve asked cautiously.

 

“No! Of course not! I would never desecrate our friend like that!” Tony bit back indignantly. “Come with me.”

 

They were in one of the large storage units on the property where Tony unearthed the battered disk. The shield had been a symbol of their contention.

 

Surprised, Steve asked,“you kept this?” He ran his fingers over the cracks and scorch marks. The red, white, and blue paint faded and peeling, he lifted the shield feeling its familiar weight in his hands.

 

“Yep.” Just like Hermione, Tony had his own agenda that he was not completely transparent with the team about. He planned to build multiple prototypes of this device that hopefully wouldn’t need magic and perhaps a fast forward button too. “What if we didn’t stop with Thanos?”

 

“Tony…” Steve warned setting down the shield.

 

Tony knew that tone. It sounded exactly like Bruce’s when he introduced the Ultron idea. He held up his hand, “let me explain. I just want some more time with my family.” Being an only child and losing his parents so young, Tony spent a lot of lonely years trying to fill the void by sleeping his way through legions of supermodels. He thought back to the presentation he gave to those MIT students years ago. He would spend his entire fortune to get more time with his parents or at least make things right with his dad.

 

“Like you would stop there.” Steve was about to walk away when Tony said, “I want to save Bucky too.”

 

Shocked, Steve uttered,“why?”

 

“James Buchanan Barnes committed a lot of crimes when he was brainwashed by HYDRA. My parents weren’t the only ones that died at the hands of HYDRA, they killed your best friend too. I just want to give him back to you.” Tony also selfishly thought it was the only way for him to forgive Steve for Siberia. “ What do you say?”

 

“I don’t know, Tony. It’s dangerous. We’ll see how the mission with Thanos goes first. If we even survive it.” They were placing a lot of blind faith on four individuals.

 

“So that’s not a no?” Tony only heard what he wanted to hear sometimes.

 

“I can see you becoming obsessive with this. You’re going to want to go back in time and change a lot of things. Most people do. It’s human nature.” 

 

That was not what he wanted to hear. “What if we destroyed the device after we save my parents and Bucky?” Tony bargained.

 

“You would do that?” Steve was very skeptical.

 

“Yes.” Tony held out his hand. “I’m not doing this without you.”

 

While Steve slept on ice for seventy years, his best friend was tortured, experimented on, and forced to kill for HYDRA. He wished he had saved Bucky. If only he held onto to him tighter or gone back to look for him. Steve let those thoughts sit for a moment before taking Tony’s hand and gripping it. “Let’s do it.”

 

_ 30 minutes later. _

 

Bruce was a workaholic. He spent a very wonderful and relaxing day with Natasha. They drove away from the compound and had a lovely picnic. But the day wasn’t over yet, he thought why not be productive even if it were only for a few hours. After making a quick stop at the kitchen to pick up some fresh vegetables for Carlos, his portly brown and white guinea pig, he walked into the shared lab space to find Tony and Steve fully armored up trashing Captain America’s iconic vibranium shield.

 

The loud noises caused Carlos to scurry up his chest and dig his little paws into his neck. Bruce winced, “what are you guys doing?”

 

“Oh hey Bruce,” Tony’s Iron Man mask retracted showing his face. “Nice of you to join us.”

 

Tony’s puppy ran up to Bruce pawing at him, wagging his tail, and barking at Carlos, who squealed and chattered his teeth. Bruce held his corpulent companion protectively against his chest while petting his little back. He felt poor Carlos’ anxiety as he purred and trembled.

 

“We’re breaking the shield down so we have material for the time turner,” Tony said stating the obvious, “also, this shield is a metaphor for the wedge my father unintentionally created between us. Don’t wanna unpack that right now,” Tony said stating the not so obvious, “and that’s why we’re destroying it.” 

 

“Vibranium is a nearly indestructible metal. It’s difficult to work with. You’re just plowing away at it without any finesse. The design Hermione showed us is really fine and delicate. Do you even have the tools to mold the shell for the time turner?”

 

Steve and Tony looked at each other. “He’s got a point.”

 

* * *

 

The lights automatically illuminated the lab when her presence was detected. Bending over Shuri sighed and undid the straps on her heels freeing her aching feet. One of the many annoyances of becoming queen of her country. The uncomfortable shoes, hours upon hours of meetings, lots of travel and time spent away from home, and worst of all no more time to develop her research.

 

Shuri never wanted to be queen. She never wanted to rule, but her brother died too soon and didn’t leave an heir, so the responsibility fell on her. Even during the coronation ceremony under the falls, no one challenged her for the throne. It would have been the most opportune time for another tribe to seize it. As she stood knee deep in the water with the eyes of her country bearing down on her, M’Baku spoke saying it was only right that she succeeded her brother, a far cry from what he said a year ago about her being a child. And that now more than ever they must unite behind her. Anyone that wanted to challenge her for the crown would have to go through him first. None of the Elders of the Tribal Council protested his decree. Everything had changed. Everyone had been shaken by the events of that day almost a year ago, and still she had not finished mourning her brother.

 

Shuri collapsed into her desk chair tossing aside her shoes. She finally made it to her lab after all this time, but she was too exhausted to even focus.

 

“You have an incoming call,” her automated system alerted her.

 

Shuri groaned laying her head on her desk. “Take a message.”

 

“It’s from a Dr. Bruce Banner.” Her computer monitor woke up projecting a holographic picture of Bruce with a ringing phone icon.

 

Curious, Shuri sat up and accepted the call.

 

A three dimensional projection of Bruce Banner’s face popped up in front of her. “Shuri? Hi. It’s me. Bruce Banner. Steve’s here too. And I don’t think you two have met, but Tony Stark is also with us.” 

 

Tony and Steve said their hellos from the background.

 

“Is this a bad time?”

 

“It’s bad times all around. What can I do for you gentlemen?”

 

“We need your help,” Bruce hesitated, “but we can’t tell you what exactly we’re doing. Just that we’re building a device that we think might change the outcome and bring everyone back.”

 

Shuri understood what outcome he was talking about.

 

“But we ran into a problem with our design. We don’t have the technology like you do to manipulate and fine tune the vibranium.”

 

“Say no more. I’ll do it.” Shuri was a genius. She will eventually figure out what they’re doing on her own anyways. “Send me your designs.”

 

“Really? Thank you, Shuri. We owe you one.”

 

She flashed the brightest smile she could muster. “Just bring my brother back.”  

 

* * *

“Is this really necessary?” Hermione winced and covered her ears, “it’s really loud!”

 

“This is for your benefit!” Clint shouted, “Cap hates this kind of music! He finds it annoying and distracting! Use it to your advantage!”

 

“I don’t like how they talk about women! It makes me uncomfortable. Can we just for once turn it off? I know you like training to music, but I don’t!” Steve complained loudly.

 

“Huh?” Clint turned off the rap music. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you.”

 

“Clint, let’s just leave the music off this time,” said Natasha impatiently.

 

“Fine,” Clint grumbled. “I was just trying to simulate a real high pressure situation. There are distractions and chaos,” he explained to Hermione, who remained unconvinced.

 

“I know, I’ve been in a war,” she reminded them.

 

“We decided not to use real guns,” Clint said loading his paintball gun, “this time.”

 

That was slightly worrying to Hermione.

 

“The objective of this training exercise is for you to evade Cap and our paint gun pellets using your magic. We’re going to work on re-establishing your strengths now that you no longer have a weapon,” Natasha explained.

 

“What if I hurt you?” Hermione asked.

 

“For now, try to stick to only using defensive tactics,” Steve responded. The only exposure the Avengers had to magic were Loki’s. If they can survive the God of Mischief, they figured they can handle Hermione’s magic. 

 

“It can’t be worse than the beat down Thor gave us that one time.” Clint lived to regret those words.

 

_ 20 minutes later. _

 

“Oh God!” Clint dropped his paintball gun.“Cap! Page Dr. Cho!” he shouted to Friday.

 

“Already notified, sir.”

 

“Someone get his leg!” Natasha yelled running to Steve.

 

“Steve! We’re gonna save you! Hang in there buddy!” Clint ran off to get help.

 

Steve the ever stoic soldier refused to scream. He clamped his mouth shut and released Hermione. All the color drained from his face from the blood loss. Gripping his left thigh with both hands, he gritted his teeth taking in short quick breaths.

 

Hermione covered in his blood looked in horror at where his severed leg laid several feet away. This was an accident. A very horrific accident and no amount of essence of dittany will fix that. Hermione while much more physically fit now having spent so long as a wolf, was still no match for Steve in terms of endurance, so she started evading him by disapparating and reappearing in different spots hoping to confuse him. Except Steve managed to catch her just as she was about to vanish again and as a result got splinched.

 

“It’s going to be okay.” Natasha was at his side tying a makeshift tourniquet with her jacket. “We’re going to get you to the medical wing.”

 

Clint came back with a transport stretcher. “Dr. Cho has been notified and she is waiting for us by the regeneration cradle.”

 

“My leg,” Steve panted. Sweat coated his face, he leaned on Natasha for support. “We have to-” he gasped from the pain, “save it.” He had fought Nazis, super soldiers, and aliens and the one time he was mortally wounded was from a practice skirmish with a nineteen year old girl. It cannot end this way for him, he thought.

 

“I’m so sorry...” Hermione just stood there shocked and motionless unsure what to do. Her teachers used a non verbal spell to fix Susan Bone’s leg that one time during apparition lessons. She made a move towards Steve. “I think I can fi-”

 

“CLINT! GET HIS LEG! WE HAVE TO GO!” 

 

Hermione watched as they hoisted him onto the stretcher and frantically pushed him out of the training arena leaving her by herself next to a pool of Steve’s blood.

 

* * *

Thor knocked on the opened door, and Jane looked up. She smiled, “hi.”

 

“Hi.” Thor crossed the threshold and stood by her bed. “Banner told me the good news.” He had just come back from outer space and dropped off everything he found at Banner and Stark’s shared laboratory. Jane and Bruce had kept in touch. Bruce had told him that Jane was in Ithaca as a visiting professor and had gone into labor. “He’ll be coming by later, but he sends his congratulations and best wishes.” He smiled looking down at the small bundle of blankets Jane held in her arms. 

 

“This is James Ellis Foster-Kincaid,” Jane cradled him rocking him softly. “Would you like to hold him?” 

 

Thor’s smile widened, “of course.”

 

Jane carefully placed her son in Thor’s arms. The infant gurgled making sharp cries of protest at being separated from his mother.

 

It was comical how small the boy was in Thor’s massive arms. If he wasn’t careful he could crush the small bundle. Swaddled in layers of blankets, the baby was tiny and pink. He peeked open his eyes as he wiggled and flexed his limbs unsure of his surroundings and very wary of the strange man that held him. “He has your eyes and your mouth,” Thor noted.

 

Jane smiled. Despite giving birth just hours before she still looked beautiful, exhausted, but beautiful. “Yeah, people have been saying that. He has Keith’s nose and chin. It’s funny how you can tell even when they’re this small.”

 

Little James started crying. As a newborn object permanence was a foreign concept to him, and he panicked over the loss of his mother. Thor tried to comfort him, but didn’t really know what to do. Bouncing him in his arms only seemed to make it worse.

 

“Here. Let me,” Jane said extending her arms lest her son sustain brain damage from Thor’s panicked rocking.

 

Thor awkwardly handed back the fussy infant. He watched as Jane cooed softly at her baby quieting his cries. It was the most natural thing for her. He thought regrettably that if they were to succeed in thwarting Thanos, this happiness Jane had found might all go away. 

 

The needs of many outweigh the one he thought rationally. Or more like he tried to convince himself. His people needed him, but he needed Hermione. They still haven’t spoken since their fight. He had left earth to search for the materials Tony had asked for and stayed away as long as possible.

 

Jane’s phone buzzed on the side table. She looked over to see the incoming call was from Bruce. “It’s Bruce, maybe he’s on his way. Do you mind?” Jane asked, her hands were full. 

 

Thor took the phone and answered it, “hello?”

 

“Thor?”

 

The other person on the line was not Banner. “Nat?”

 

“You lost your phone again? We’ve been trying to call you,” Natasha replied. “If your skin wasn’t bulletproof we would have microchipped you.”

 

“It’s actually for me,” Thor said quickly to Jane.

 

Jane giggled overhearing Natasha’s last comment, “you are incredibly difficult to get a hold of.”

 

“What’s the matter?” Thor asked returning to the phone conversation.

 

“It’s Hermione. Come back NOW.”

 

* * *

Hermione shakily peeled off the bloody clothes and stepped into the shower. She turned the faucet on to full blast before slumping against the shower wall. Her legs gave in and she slid down against the wall. Pulling her knees to her chest she made herself as small as possible as she sobbed under the spray of warm water. 

 

“Thor has arrived back at the compound and is looking for you,” Friday announced loudly startling Hermione. “Should I tell him that you will meet with him later?”

 

Hermione cleared her throat, “can you please just send him here?”

 

“Certainly.”

 

Peering through the glass she saw his feet approaching. Thor knelt down, so he could see her. “Hermione,” he called through the glass. The running water distorted his voice. Opening the door, he carefully stepped inside the spacious shower.

 

“It was an accident.” She buried her face in her knees.

 

“I know. Natasha told me everything. No one is angry.”

 

“Is he-?” She swallowed heavily. Lifting her head, she looked up at Thor. “Will he be alright?” 

 

“Yes.” Thor was relieved it had been Steve and not Clint. The permanent enhancement from the super soldier serum  will ensure a full recovery. “He’ll be fine. Cho reattached his leg using the regeneration cradle. He’s resting now.”

 

Hermione didn’t say anything. She turned her head away from him. She excelled at magic, sometimes obnoxiously so, but when she messed up, she  _ really  _ messed up. This was exponentially worse than that polyjuice potion incident. 

 

“Are you hurt?” Thor asked concerned. 

 

Hermione sniffed and shook her head.

 

Not entirely convinced, Thor stepped forward into the spray of water drenching his hair and clothes. Slipping his large hands underneath her arms he pulled her up. His eyes traveled down her body looking for any signs of injury. Aside from some minor scrapes and bruises, she looked unharmed.

 

Hermione saw his eyes linger on her. They darkened and his breathing deepened. He took a step back. Sensing his hesitancy and impending retreat, she slid her hands from his shoulder to the hem of his shirt pulling intent on removing it. The fabric was dark and heavy from the water. Thor finished the job when she could no longer reach any higher. The garment fell to the ground with a loud splat.

 

Curling the crook of her arm around his neck for stability, she kissed him tentatively. Thor kissed her back gently or as gently as he could manage. He placed his hands on her slippery wet skin sliding down her back and resting them on her waist.

 

Hermione deepened the kiss rubbing her body against him and felt his evident desire for her pressing back against her stomach. Her hands shook a little as she fumbled with his belt buckle. The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed harshly in the shower chamber. Thor broke the kiss and grabbed her hands stopping her. Surprised, she looked up to see Thor eyes closed, his breathing harsh and ragged as if he were waging an internal battle with himself. 

 

“Thor?” she asked. Maybe she shouldn’t have been so forward. They haven’t had a chance to talk since their fight, but all she wanted at that moment was him, no words, just his body around hers. She missed him, and the way he touched her. She felt starved without it. From the beginning their relationship had been very physical, and it had been weeks since he last touched her.

 

Thor looked up at the shower ceiling. Asgardians were not as body conscious as humans. He had seen more than his fair share of the opposite sex naked including her. 100% of whom he had intercourse with including her, but he wasn’t sure if he should with this one (again) no matter how tempting she looked standing there stark naked, skin wet and flushed from the shower. His cock throbbed inside his trousers wanting to weigh in on the decision too.

 

Reaching behind her, he turned off the water and kissed her forehead. “I have someone I’d like you to meet.” He opened the shower door letting in the cold air shocking them back to reality. He grabbed a towel covering her up before he changed his mind. “Get dressed. I’ll be outside”

 

Biting her lip, she slumped against the wall watching him leave. Wrapping the towel around herself tighter, she felt a little foolish and little disappointed too.

 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	20. Chapter 20

 

“Hermione, meet the Queen of Asgard. My mother, Frigga.”

 

Hermione looked at Thor desperating wishing he had given her more of a warning. She bowed her head slightly as curseying in her jeans would have made her look ridiculous. “Hello your majesty,” she surprised herself at how smooth and even her voice was, “it’s wonderful to meet you. Thor has told me so much about you.”

 

Frigga smiled. She was radiant, beautiful, and every bit of a goddess exemplified. “The pleasure is all mine. I’ve been wanting to meet you for a while now.” She glided effortless across the space until she was in front of Hermione. 

 

Like all Asgardians Hermione had met thus far, she was taller than her. Dressed in traditional Asgardian robes she looked regal and intimidating, but her warm smile comforted Hermione in a way that reminded her of her own mother.

“There is no better teacher in the Nine Realms than my mother. She taught Loki everything and now she will teach you.”

 

Hermione could barely suppress her excitement. “When do we start?” was the only question she had. She was about to learn magic from an actual goddess!

 

Frigga laughed surprised by her eagerness. “How about now?”

 

Thor looked at both of them. Pleased that they seemed to be getting along, he said, “I’ll leave you two to get acquainted with one another.”

 

Frigga made frequent visits to the compound in order to train Hermione. Asgardian magic heavily focused on defense and combat, but Frigga being as long lived as she was also mastered healing and transformative magic. With her guidance, Hermione was able to move past rote spell casting to more intuitive magic. Without the crutch of a wand, Hermione’s magical attacks became more reflexive and in time even more accurate. She no longer relied on spells verbal or nonverbal, but want and intent. Since the Battle of Hogwarts where she was stripped of her wand, Hermione had finally rediscovered her magic and gone beyond what was possible while under the guidance of her Hogwarts professors.

 

Hermione had been waiting her entire life for a teacher like Frigga. Beyond the vast knowledge she possessed, she was also warm and encouraging. Hermione looked forward to seeing her at every lesson where she could show off what she had practiced without fear of being seen as an overeager know it all.

 

Inevitably, Frigga’s time on earth would expire. Pulled back to the realm of the dead, Thor summoned her again and again. He had asked how often she could visit and she replied, “as long as you and Hermione need me.” Though every time she visited, she could hear Odin call for her just as she did for him while he was alive.

 

All the Avengers adored Frigga and welcomed her to stay as long as possible. Tony even went as far as saying that he never wanted to meet Odin because whatever bad parenting produced Loki could definitely not be attributed to Frigga.

 

“A shield can be used for more than protection. It can be used to trap your enemies and cut off aide,” Frigga instructed from afar watching Hermione practice her magic.

 

“How is she doing?” Thor asked appearing by his mother’s side. They were inside one of the compound’s many training arenas.

 

“She is an excellent student. I’ve never met anyone so eager to learn.”

 

“I’m not surprised.”

 

“Darling, I liked Jane. I really did. But Hermione is special. I’ve never met a Midgardian witch with so much talent and raw power even when there were more of them. I wish I had more time with her.”

 

“I know.” They were both mesmerized watching her build a shimmering golden dome around herself. “I think I’m going to lose her.”

 

Frigga did not contradict him.“Then the wisest course of action now is to cherish the time you do have with her.”

 

That wasn’t what Thor wanted to hear, “what?”

 

“You and I both know that nothing in this universe is permanent.”

 

“You’re not going to tell me to fight for her?”

 

“You are your father’s son. All you know how to do is fight. May I suggest you lay down your weapon for once? Fighting with her will only push her further away.”

 

“Jane and I never fought. It didn’t save our relationship.”

 

“No, it was the distance. The time spent apart. You were never there for her because you were too busy serving and protecting our people.”

 

Thor sighed, “in the end it was all for nothing.”

 

Frigga gave him a stern look, “no, Thor. My darling. Please forgive yourself before the guilt kills you. You know what your father would say.”

 

“Human lives are fleeting? Father detested mortals. He made his disapproval of Jane very clear.”

 

Frigga shook her head.“He would agree with me. That you would be better served by what lies in front of you.” 

 

Hermione’s eyes met Thor’s. She smiled at him before returning to her task concentrating on expanding her shield.

 

“At that time it was a throne that was waiting for you. And now, you haven’t taken your eyes off of her since you’ve come in here. Not even to look at your own mother,” she laughed softly, “I remember when there was a  time when you only had eyes for me.”

 

“Hmm?” Thor was momentarily distracted by Hermione, who was laughing delighting in her growing shield, proving Frigga’s point.

 

“Support her, Thor. Be with her.” 

 

Thor turned to face her. “Yes, mother.”

 

* * *

 

Hermione dropped her pencil. Gripping her right hand she tried to massage the cramp out of her dominant hand. After hours of reworking the same arithmantic equation,  she still had not come up with a viable solution to bypass the three hour limit on the time turner. The Avengers had set a hard deadline of April 10th if they were to go back a year, a little earlier than the anniversary of the snap. 

 

Tony and Thor had gone back to Titan to recover the ship’s log from the wreckage of Ebony Maw’s spaceship. The smaller vessel tracked the mothership at all times in case it needed to return to base. From the log, they were able to see the approximate position the ship was, and around the 10th of April Thanos’ ship was already enroute to Xandar.

 

She leaned back against her chair. It was nearly the end of February. She didn’t have much time left. Her desk was covered in loose leaf papers and books borrowed from the Sanctum. For reading material, Hermione still preferred books over screens. She liked feeling the pages and the weight of the texts in her hands. Tony had no idea how she could work in such disorganized chaos, but he was more than accommodating when he complied with her request. Even though all of Jean Granger’s work was accessible on a public database, he still collected all the hard copies of every published manuscript plus every research notebook kept by what Tony called her mother from another universe and deposited in a file box.

 

Hermione had left that file box containing all the materials untouched until now. Taking a deep breath she removed the lid and picked up a magazine laying on top of the stack. The cover was crisp and glossy. It must have been published recently. Flipping through the pages she found a tribute piece written by a postdoc at Stanford University titled _Time Travel:_ _Theories That Stood the Test of Time_.

 

_ The year was 1985. The first Back to the Future movie came out with smashing box office success. Over on the scientific front Russian astrophysicist Igor Dmitriyevich Novikov was hard at work developing his own time travel theory later known as the Self - Consistency Principle, which will become the accepted paradigm that will influence many more popular sci-fi works to come. _

 

_ A few years later over on the western front, a British physicist named Jean Ophelia Granger nee Wilkins wrote a personal essay in response to Novikov’s theory, which was published on June 5, 1988  in the Annals of Physics just months before her tragic death. _

 

_ Granger provided an alternate theory in which traveling back in time especially in the near past created a separate timeline parallel to the original that eventually converge.  That is because it is within the time traveler’s lifetime thus creating a future and past self. The second timeline contained what she called the ‘actors’ or the time travelers (future self) that act independently of the original timeline. Their actions have a profound effect and the potential to alter the course of the entire timeline when the two eventually merge. _

 

_ As opposed to the single timeline that formed a closed timelike curve that Novikov presented. He assumed that alternate timelines were iaccessible. He also assumed one’s free will was restricted and therefore the past cannot be changed due to certain temporal paradoxes that needed to be either avoided or prevented. That effectively established that the past was immutable or at least predetermined. Whereas Granger postulated that the creation of temporal paradoxes were inevitable in time travel, but cancel each other out during the merging of timelines. Unlike Novikov’s outcome, which remains the same, Granger’s Theory (as it was called) warned of immeasurable and  unforeseen consequences as a result of paradoxes cancelling one another. _

 

_ Granger’s Theory never gained much traction. Why? There were more variables to work out such as what constituted as the near past? An hour, six months, a year or more? Sadly, these ideas were never fully developed as Dr. Granger and her daughter were victims in a terrorist attack in 1988, while Novikov’s became the accepted paradigm. As time travel has never been possible at least according to Fermi, neither theory has ever been tested. Here is an excerpt from her paper written thirty years prior. _

 

_ “There are a myriad of reasons why anyone would want to travel back in time. Historians and archaeologist may want to see what life was like before their time. A homicide detective might want to solve a thirty year old cold case. Others might want to see a real life dinosaur. Those three scenarios render the traveler as a mere observer. Me, I’d like to change the past. I want to participate in reshaping history.” _

 

_ Dangerous words have never been spoken. _

Hermione set down the journal and looked up when she heard the door open. Tony and Bruce walked in. They were both wet and holding bundles of cloth in their arms.

 

“Is it raining outside?” The room she was in didn’t have any windows or any kind of distraction.

 

“You would know if you ever left this cave. When I told you to study everyday, I didn’t mean every minute of the day. Do you ever do anything for fun?” Tony asked.

 

“This is fun.”

 

“Ignore him, Hermione. I have to drag this guy with me from the lab when I close up shop at the end of the day.”

 

“That’s cause I’m having fun. Engineering is fun. Building robots is fun. Reading is...meh.” Tony said as if he didn’t already read everything in that box before giving it to Hermione. “Besides, Pepper is always working late too.” 

 

They set down their bundles, but one of them started moving.

 

“Is that Earl?” Hermione asked taking a peek. The tortoise stuck its head out of the terry cloth towel. “Hello, handsome,” she cooed. She took a piece of fruit off her plate to feed him.

 

“Yeah, I just gave him a bath.”

 

“You threw him into the lap pool.”

 

“I thought that he would want to go for a swim... Cap never lets him. ”

 

“That’s because Tortoises don’t swim!”

 

Tony realized that pretty quickly when Earl took in too much water and sank straight to the bottom.“How was I supposed to know that? How did those giant tortoises get on that island where Darwin found them then?”

 

“Friday even warned you! It’s pretty common knowledge.” She had cleverly alerted Bruce instead of Steve to help Tony fish out Earl from the bottom of the swimming pool.

 

“Really? Hermione, did you know that tortoises can’t swim?”

 

”Float, yes. Swim, no. They pretty much live on land exclusively.” 

 

“Know it all,” Tony grumbled.

 

“Told you,” Bruce said.

 

“Is that why you’re both wet?” Hermione laughed. “You had to save Earl from drowning?” She dried their clothes with the wave of her hand. “Awww….poor thing.” 

 

“Thanks.” Tony’s body shuddered from the sensation of her magic. “And please don’t tell Steve.” 

 

“No promises,” Hermione said not even looking at him. She was still preoccupied with comforting Earl. He must have been so traumatized.

 

“Anyways, we have something for you,” Bruce segued. “Something Tony and I have been working on for the last few weeks.”

 

“Oh? What is it?”

 

Tony picked up the second bundle. “TADA!” He unrolled it dropping it onto the table she sat at covering her study materials like a tablecloth. “Go on, try it on,” he said expectantly. 

 

“What is it?” She repeated holding the spacesuit up. It looked like a deflated life raft. She wasn’t even sure how to put it on.

 

“It’s a space suit. You’ll need it for the mission. It’s to protect you from the harsh elements of space,” Bruce explained.

 

“Here, stand up. I’ll help you put it on,” Tony offered.

 

Hermione stood up and watched Tony unzip the garment. It was a deep navy blue almost black in color and unzipped it looked like a giant trash bag. “Step in.” Tony zipped her up and she could only imagine how ridiculous she looked in the absence of a mirror. It was exactly what two men, who had never made clothes would sew together.

 

Bruce somehow found her wrist in the excess material and pressed a button which cause the extra air in the suit to vacate and the material to hug her like a second skin. “You’re not really meant to wear jeans underneath or anything but regular undergarments, but as you can tell the material will configure to fit you with a press of a button.”

 

“That’s actually the extent of the tech built in as we didn’t want to put you in anything that would interfere with your magic. The material itself was developed by Bruce to work with your skin to keep you cool or warm depending of the setting. Most likely warm. Space is a cold, cold unforgiving place. You should be able to cast whatever magic you want on it to enhance it.”

 

“This is amazing!” Hermione ran her gloved hands up and down the suit feeling the material. She felt something engraved just above her left breast. Looking down she saw the Avengers’ A insignia.

 

“Welcome to the team, kid.” Tony patted her on the shoulder. 

 

Hermione didn’t know why, but she hugged him. “Thank you.” Before Tony could make a smart remark to ruin the moment, she quickly moved on to hug Bruce.

 

“One more thing,” Bruce said. “I know you have a spell that allows you to breath underwater.”

 

“The bubble-head charm.”

 

“Sometimes I don’t know if you’re just making this stuff up just to mess with us. Bubble-head? Hogwarts? Golden snitches?”

 

“We think that will work with the suit,” Bruce cut him off, “but just in case, Tony and I made you a separate portable mask. It can be easily stored in one of your suit pockets.”

Tony dug out what looked like a knitted beanie from his pocket just to demonstrate that point and placed it on her head. “You can never have one too many contingency plans when you’re in outer space. We need to do something about this hair.” The beanie activated and transformed into a helmet encapsulating her head hair and all. Oxygen flooded the mask.

 

“Don’t you dare touch her hair,” Thor warned. He entered catching only the tail end of that conversation. “It’s one of her many attributes that I love and adore.”

 

Hermione blushed beneath the mask as Thor came up behind her.

 

“Ugh. Ew. TMI. I was just going to suggest that she tie it up,” Tony made a face, “then you got all mushy about it.”

 

“I need to borrow her,” Thor said placing a hand on her lower back. Looking her up and down appreciatively, he asked,”what is it that you are wearing?”

 

Hermione took off her helmet blowing her hair out of her face, “it’s a spacesuit. Bruce and Tony made it for me.” She grinned.

 

Thor leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I very much like that on you,” his voice low and suggestive.

 

Bruce looked away pretending he didn’t just hear that.

 

“Where we’re going, you’ll actually need that,” Thor said.

 

“Where are we going?” Hermione asked.

 

“You’ll see.” 

 

* * *

 

“Who’s there?” Eitri bellowed startled by the appearance of the bifrost. He had fallen asleep next to the hearth hours ago.

 

“It’s me, Thor. The only survivor of Asgard with the ability to summon the bifrost,” Thor gently reminded him. Eitri hadn’t been the same since Thanos murdered everyone on Nidavellir. “And this is Hermione.” He kept his arm wrapped securely around her waist.

 

Tucked into Thor’s side, Hermione looked up at Eitri. Hermione had never met a dwarf that big before. He had the proportions, but not the size. He was bigger than any giant she had ever seen. “Hello,” she said. He probably didn’t even hear her with her being so far away from his head.

 

Eitri squinted his eyes at her. “Is she the one? The one with the tiny hands?”

 

“Um, yes. She’s human actually,” Thor explained tightening his hold on Hermione. Eitri was not malicious, just a little unstable.

 

Eitri grunted and stomped off. 

 

Thor and Hermione looked at each other. 

 

“Where exactly are we, Thor?” She looked around at her surroundings. It was dark save for the fire in the hearth and the stars overhead. The whole place looked abandoned. It was littered with giant heaps of scrap metal and broken tools.  

 

“This is Nidavellir.”

 

“Nidavellir? Where Mjolnir and Stormbreaker were made?” Hermione was shocked at the state of the place.

 

“The one and only.”

 

“I was expecting it to be less...”

 

“Dark and abysmal? There were 300 dwarves that lived here before Thanos killed them all. He spared Eitri and forced him to make the gauntlet, so he could wield the Infinity Stones. Then he bound his hands with metal.”

 

“That’s barbaric!” Hermione had noticed his clubbed hands when they first arrived.

 

“I know.”

 

“What are we doing here? Are we here to help him?” Hermione asked eagerly.

 

Thor smiled. She had such a kind heart. “Actually, I have a gift for you.”

 

Before Hermione could respond, Eitri came back. “It’s finished. I didn’t have any molds that would fit her, but I designed these to shrink down and fit the wearer.” He carefully balanced a tray on his bound hands. Lowering onto his knees so Hermione and Thor could see, there was matching a set of gold rings large enough for Eitri to wear on his fingers if he still had any. Thor grabbed both of them one in each hand.

 

“Hold out your arms.”

 

Hermione lifted her arms. Thor placed each ring onto each of her arms. She braced herself thinking they would be heavy, but for something so large they were practically weightless. They watched as the metal shrunk to fit Hermione’s wrists.

 

“I know it’s not a wand, but these will help you channel your magic during combat.” He held her wrist examining the bracelet. It contained runes that Hermione didn’t recognize.

 

“I can make further adjustments if they are needed,” Eitri offered standing up to his full height. The metal tray slipped and fell to the floor with a loud clang narrowly missing Hermione and Thor.

 

“Sorry,” he mumbled gruffly embarrassed by his clumsiness. He left the tray where it was, since he could not pick it up.  

 

“No need for that, Eitri. Thank you for your help,” Thor replied, “do you mind if we test these here?”

 

“Certainly. I only ask that you practice on the outer rings away from the star.”

 

Thor nodded. “Hermione,” he pulled her close to him and pointed to a spot above them. “Take us there.”

 

Hermione hesitated, “are you sure?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Hermione apparated them onto one of the outer rings. She quickly checked to make sure Thor didn’t get splinched.

 

Thor hugged her. “I’m alright,” he reassured her.

 

“It’s beautiful.” From where they stood, they could see the dying star.

 

Thor took her hand into his and led her to the edge for a closer look. “That is the dying star. Eitri harnessed its power to create these,” he said holding up her hand. 

 

“Thank you, Thor.” She also needed to thank Eitri before they leave of course. Her bracelets must have been very difficult for him to make. “For the gift.”

 

“Why don’t you give them a try?” Thor prompted.

 

“Okay.” 

 

Hermione lifted her right hand and aimed it at a pile of scrap metal. She fired a spell nonverbally. A bright blue burst of energy disintegrated the entire pile of space junk leaving black dust.

 

“Not bad. What else can you do?”

 

“I think I can fix this place up.”

 

“Oh? I was hoping for a bigger explosion,” Thor teased.

 

Hermione looked down at her hands. “I think I’ll clean this place up a bit. Maybe it’ll cheer Eitri up-” Hermione paused. She had an idea and vanished with a pop. 

 

Almost immediately afterwards Thor heard Eitri shout followed by a loud crash. He ran toward the sound jumping off the ledge landing in the place they had first arrived at.

 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to startle you!” Hermione apologized profusely. “I just want to help.”

 

“What?” The dwarf asked confused.

 

Thor watched as Hermione carefully approached Eitri, who still laid on the ground where he had fallen.

 

“I can fix your hands!” Hermione said loudly.

 

Eitri looked a her dubiously, but didn’t move as she approached him.

 

Hermione gingerly placed her hands on one of Eitri’s much larger bound one. She concentrated all her magic on his hand. She didn’t have a spell in mind, just the pure intent of freeing his hand and healing the flesh. The metal on his hand responded to her magic glowing red as if being heated, but Eitri showed no discomfort. The orange red metal burst into tiny particles. Hermione held on not yet finished. She healed the deformed hand until it was new again.

 

Too shocked to speak, Eitri didn’t say anything as he flexed his free hand. A single tear dropped from his eyes landing with an audible splash near Thor.

 

“I’m going to fix your other one now.” Hermione moved onto his right hand to start the process all over again. She had a very determined look on her face as she concentrated her magic to free his right hand.

 

Thor watched her heal Eitri’s other hand. And it was in that moment that Thor finally understood why she was so determined to go back. It was who she was. She didn’t tolerate any kind of injustice. She fearlessly fought it. She used her powers and abilities to make things right, to help others. And that was what Thor loved and adored most about her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN:I did take that quote from Odin directly from Thor: Dark World. Odin says it when they were watching Sif train in the courtyard. Basically telling him to forget Jane.
> 
> Hermione’s spacesuit is a total rip off of Evangelion plugsuits. I just always thought they were super cool.


	21. Chapter 21

Everything came together during the last week of March.

The Avenger coffee mug animals were napping in a pile of cuteness beneath the window sharing each other's warmth and soaking up the mid afternoon sun when Clint walked in.

Tony looked up from his lab bench and laughed at the chameleon perched on top of Clint's head. Even Bruce chuckled politely.

"I told her I wanted a hawk," Clint grumbled. "Red-tails are my favorite. My kids keep complaining that Kevin never does anything. They keep begging me for a puppy, but Stark here didn't want to trade." He shot Tony a pointed look. None of the Avengers wanted to trade with him.

"Here's an idea. Why don't you just ask Hermione to change him into something else? Instead of trying to steal one of our animals?" Tony suggested leaning against his stool.

"No birds of prey allowed. Or any other predators," Bruce added. "Not while Carlos, Tore, and the rest are still small and vulnerable."

"I thought about that but she's been holed up in her room trying to figure out that time limit problem."

"I hate to break it to you buddy, but your little rodent will always be vulnerable. It's not like he has Sasha's spines," Tony pointed out. Natasha's lone hedgehog slept peacefully on its side away from the cuddle pile not to be disturbed until sundown. "I saw Thor's kitten nibbling on Carlos' ear the other day. Like he's slowly eating him or something."

Clint chuckled and carefully removed Kevin. He hadn't moved in a while, so Clint thought he needed some sun or something. He placed him on top of Earl, who had retreated into his shell.

"Tore can't eat him. They're like the same size," Bruce gestured to the sleeping pair. Well Tore was asleep spooning Carlos, whose wide opened eyes screamed hostage situation.

"They haven't grown at all since we've gotten them. Isn't that kind of weird?" Clint asked.

"For animals that are actually drinking vessels? No," Tony retorted. "Besides, I want Parker to stay a puppy forever." Tony glanced over to his sleeping puppy, who was also acting as a pillow for the smaller critters to snuggle up against.

"You know that's why there are Chihuahuas and Yorkies, right? Humans literally engineered smaller breeds of dogs to never grow bigger than a teacup," Clint said.

Parker woke up first alerted to an object outside the window. He barked and pawed at the glass.

"What is it boy?" Tony picked up Parker and saw in the distance an unidentified flying object rapidly approaching. Tony's first thought of course was to shoot it out of the sky, but Bruce edged past him and opened the window letting in what looked like a mini quinjet. "Wait! I've been waiting for this. It's from Shuri."

"How did this get past the compound's scanner and defense system?" Tony asked in alarm to no one in particular, but he did expect an answer.

"Their country has been hidden from the rest of the world for centuries or more. I think they've always been ahead of the curve when it comes to stealth tech," Bruce assumed.

The hovering drone scanned everyone in the room before a miniature holograph of Shuri appeared standing on top. Her message was brief. "I made a few adjustments to the design. That should solve all of your problems," she said before the drone deposited a perfectly spherical grey package in Bruce's hand. It was the size of a baseball. Shuri's image disappeared before the drone took off through the opened window before Tony could catch it to study its secrets. It vanished into the distance.

Parker continued to bark waking everyone else up. Except for Sasha, who just rolled into a protective ball. Tore started grooming a very nervous looking Carlos, while Earl poked his head out of his house. Annoyed that there wasn't a plate of strawberries waiting for him, he withdrew back inside.

"Is that the shell?" Tony asked setting Parker down. He ran over to Clint, who conveniently withdrew a treat from inside his pocket. "For the time turner?"

As if voice activated the package opened itself revealing concentric rings made of Vibranium. In the center was a holder for the hourglass. Bruce held it up admiring the craftsmanship. "Shuri did a good job." He blinked and adjusted his glasses. "A really good job."

"Yeah, we'll send her a fruit basket." Tony plucked one of the glass models he had been working on from his bench and placed it in the slot. It locked itself in activating the rings to spin around the hourglass. "And an invitation to my wedding," he added.

"Now we just need Hermione's magic."

* * *

A few days later in the dwindling month, Hermione popped into Bruce and Tony's laboratory, literally.

"Fuck!" Tony cursed spilling coffee all over himself. "What did I tell you about teleporting in here?!" Tony scolded. "You're just as bad as Wong sneaking up on people like that. We haven't seen you for like days..."

Hermione ignored him. "I figured it out!" She brandished her papers in the air. "I have it! The formula. Where's the time turner?" Strands of her hair fell out of her messy bun as she prattled about. "The key was in one of her notebooks! Someone should give that woman an Order of Merlin er.. Nobel posthumously!" she declared.

"That's not allowed," Bruce pointed out, "and if this weren't a top secret mission, I think you would be the one receiving the prize." He placed the time turner in her hand.

Hermione snorted, "yes. That would be brilliant. How would we ever explain my existence? Her daughter from another dimension, who also happens to be a witch, created a device that can turn back time."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We haven't even tried it yet," said Tony.

Tony and Bruce watched as Hermione began the complicated spellwork. The two had never known magic and will never fully understand it, but they were fascinated by hers. She levitated the time turner into the air guiding it with her hand. It spun absorbing her magic emitting different colors as Hermione layered each charm imbuing the sand with her magic. They felt it in the air. It was tangible, but indescribable. Tony had jokingly ridiculed Strange for his magic tricks and light shows, but his smug cape wearing ass was asking for it. But he was not only impressed with her skill, but her genuine enthusiasm and love for her magic. Magic, it was who she was.

"There." Hermione put the final touches of the intricate spell before sealing her magic into the time turner. She took out a pen from her pocket and transfigured it into a chain, which snaked itself through the loop of the time turner bounding it around her neck. "It will work," she said confidently. Fingering the necklace, she felt ready. "It has to."

* * *

Despite taking care of the most difficult piece, the last week and a half was still a mad dash to the finish line. They had to make all sorts of final preparations and contingency plans in case something went wrong, which they were betting on.

Hermione recreated her DA galleons with protean charms using American dollar coins for herself, Thor, and Wong. Tony didn't get one since he didn't have magic to activate it, so she will have to stay close to him. She also made them into emergency portkeys that when activated transported the user straight to the holder of either the second or third coin as soon as the receiver confirmed the next location was safe. For herself she made a separate portkey to Norway that she hid along with the resurrection stone inside one of her many concealed space suit pockets. Every person carried a bag with an undetectable extension charm filled with Nasa grade vacuum sealed provisions, water, first aid supplies, anything they could have possibly thought of in case any of them were stranded in space.

On the morning of April 10th the Avengers dropped Hermione, Thor, Tony, and Wong off at an abandoned warehouse in upstate New York. Hermione drew the runes on the concrete ground marking the spot where they were supposed to stand when she activated the time turner.

While the final checks were being made and goodbyes were being said, Thor pulled Hermione into a secluded corner away from everyone else.

"Promise me you won't go without saying goodbye."

"I won't," she promised, "you would know exactly where to find me anyways." She thought about the secret portkey concealed on her person and felt a pang of guilt."Besides November is a ways away. We have some time to figure some things out," she reassured him.

Thor grinned. "Good, that's what I wanted to hear." He backed her up against the wall before kissing her deeply and he suddenly doubted her resolve to leave, to leave him.

"Hey you two! Stop making out. We have a job to do."

Hermione broke the kiss looking past his shoulder she saw everyone staring at them. Thor reluctantly set her down and they headed back to the group.

She grabbed his hand suddenly. "I think I may have found a way to come back."

"Really?" Thor's face lit up.

"It'll require some serious abuse with this time turner, but it could work," she said tugging at her necklace. She didn't want to get his hopes up, but she also wanted him to know that she will do everything to come back to him. "I'll tell you later," she whispered as they approached the team.

Thor, Hermione, Tony, and Wong stepped into the runic circle Hermione drew.

For posterity Clint snapped a photo on his phone and gave a mock salute, "godspeed."

Nothing else needed to be said. Bruce, Natasha, Clint and Steve looked on as Hermione funneled her magic through the time turner and into the runes. They activated glowing bright purple forming a sphere around them before the entire thing vanished.

One year ago, the building was still abandoned, which they had confirmed beforehand. Wong created two portals. One for Hermione and Tony that led them to the nearest barren moon where Hermione will apparate her and Tony onto Thanos' ship. And one for him and Thor on Xandar.

Before Hermione could go through the portal Thor grabbed her arm and stole another kiss from her, "stay safe." He smiled and disappeared into the second portal with Wong. Casting a bubble head charm on herself she stepped through hers.

Tony waited for her on the other side of the portal. It closed immediately after she stepped through. He stared up at the sky with a pair of high powered binoculars. Handing them to her, he said, "it's that thing up there. It even looks evil. You got this?"

The image was faint, but she could see the ship through the binoculars. It looked very close to Tony's recreation from Thor's memory. It was a very menacing looking spaceship. "Yes," she nodded. Taking his arm she apparated them both.

They landed in a dark humid place. It was loud with the engines humming. She created a sound proof bubble between her and Tony to block out the noise. Whispering lumos, a small orb of light appeared brightening their surroundings just enough to see but not enough to draw attention.

Tony's Iron Man mask dissipated. "You remember the plan?"

Hermione nodded affirmatively, "we need to stay close together."

The plan was simple, but the execution was not. Tony had to create obstructions to the ship's engines so that it slowed down the ship without triggering a warning in the ship's control system. It was sort of letting enough air out of the car tires without the tire pressure gauge light coming on the dashboard Tony had explained. But Tony didn't get to study the mechanics of the ship prior so he had to improvise as he went. Luckily he was a genius. Plus he spent eight months hitchhiking through space doing mostly menial repair work in exchange for passage.

Then they had to strategically hide the self detonating devices. Those were set to go off sequentially days after they leave destroying multiple engines stranding the ship before Thanos could make it to Xandar.

"That's the last detonator," Tony said. The device beeped as he set the timer.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. She had been keeping a look out despite already cloaking themselves with her magic to avoid detection. "Let's get out of here."

Hermione took his arm and apparated. Only to reappear seconds later electrocuted by a force field. They both collapsed to the floor.

"What just happened?" Tony groaned.

Hermione gasped panicked, "I don't know."

Ebony Maw descended from the upper level. "We don't take kindly to trespassers. Especially those that are trying to sabotage our ship. You're not leaving until you tell us who you are and what you are doing here." From the shadows emerged the rest of the Black Order.

"Fuck!" Tony swore. They had been discovered. He fired his repulsor at the engines destroying as much as he could.

Gripping Tony's arm Hermione shouted, "portkey!" The coin activated in her hand, but nothing else happened. They were trapped. They were so concerned about the timeline that it did not occur to them that they would be outnumbered if they were discovered.

* * *

"Where do you think the Power Stone is kept?" Thor asked. They had been wandering around Xandar. It was a very populous and busy capital.

"Maybe that high security building over there?" Wong guessed jutting his chin at the large grey building in front of them.

The two walked through a sea of people unhindered within the mirror dimension.

"Magic sure is wonderful," Thor commented as they continued their stroll down the promenade bypassing the guards.

The stone was kept in a locked guarded vault several stories underground, but they were in and out thanks to Wong's sorcery. He opened a portal to the real dimension and Thor reached through grabbing the stone while the guards' backs were turned. They decided not to leave a replica. In hopes that once the Xandar officials realized the stone was gone, they would bolster their defenses increasing their chances of surviving Thanos' attack this time. Thor quickly disposed of the stone tossing it into the opening Wong had chosen.

Stepping out of the portal opening into the same place Tony and Hermione were before, Thor noticed something. "You're glowing," he said. At the last minute they changed their rendezvous point from Knowhere to this uninhabited moon to regroup.

"So are you," Wong took the coin out of his pocket with a grim expression on his face. "I think they're in trouble." Gripping his coin he tried to summon Hermione and Tony to safety. "Something is keeping them from coming here."

"Try mine," Thor tossed his coin to Wong.

Wong shook his head, "they need our help."

"Where are they?"

"Probably trapped on Thanos ship." Wong looked up to the sky. "It should be passing by us right now."

"Take us there," Thor ordered. "Now."

Hermione ran down the narrow path being pursued by Corvus Glaive. She and Tony had been separated. They were outnumbered two to one. Coming up to a dead end, Hermione suddenly vanished.

"Where did she go?" Proxima Midnight caught up to Corvus. "I thought Ebony Maw made sure that they can't tele-"

Proxima Midnight screeched as the fiendfyre flames consumed her leaving a pile of ash on the ground.

Corvus Glaive morphed into Proxima Midnight just before the real Corvus Glaive appeared at the scene. "Did you get her? I heard a scream."

"Yes," she answered firing a bright blue blast knocking him backwards rendering him unconscious. She picked up his glaive intent on plunging it into his chest when Tony arrived.

Aiming his repulsor at her, he watched the skin of Proxima Midnight fade revealing Hermione. "It's me! Sabrina, the teenage witch!" she said quickly holding up her hands weapon dropping to the ground.

Corvus Glaive twitched on the ground. Tony dropped his arm firing his repulsor at Corvus Glaive killing him. "Hermione," he gasped holding his side.

"You're hurt!"

Hermione quickly healed the gash with her magic. There was a reason why healing was a magical specialty of its own."That should hold for now."

"Thanks," Tony sighed. He quickly repaired his suit sealing it shut.

"Did you kill Ebony Maw?" she asked.

"No. Not yet."

Her heart sank, "we can't get out here unless the force field comes down." Ebony Maw's magic was very powerful. He would not fall for the same tricks she pulled on Proxima Midnight and Corvus Glaive.

"I know," Tony groaned leaning against the wall. "In the immortal words of Danny Glover, I'm getting too old for this shit. I'm sorry I dragged you into this, kid."

"This really isn't the time or the place, Tony."

"You remind me of someone."

"Pull yourself together! We're getting out of here," she whispered harshly.  _Think Hermione!_ "We'll have to get out here the non magical way."

"Hijack an escape pod?" Tony smiled weakly, "I like your style. Assuming they don't already have this entire place on lockdown."

"We have to try," she grabbed his arm. "Let's go." They ran through the maze of walkways suspended over the engine parts. Unfortunately, there was only one way in and out of the engine room and a massive purple armored Titan blocked the way.

"What do we have here?" Thanos drawled.

"Stowaways, my lord." The surviving members of the Black Order flanked him.

"Is that him?" Hermione asked Tony her eyes not leaving Thanos.

Tony stepped in front of Hermione."Looks like we made it to the boss battle." He fired up his repulsor. "Get ready to run."

"No!" A shimmering transparent gold wall descended separating the exit from her and Tony.

"Hermione!"

"We leave together!" she hissed. Just in case she casted a quick muffliato. "There's nowhere to run, Tony. Think! Get us out of here."

* * *

"The portal isn't opening." Wong circled his arms in vain. Orange and yellow sparks sputtered, but the hole wouldn't grow bigger than an inch in diameter. "There's magic blocking us. It must be the Maw's."

Thor growled, "I'm going to bring that ship down. Wait here."

"You're going to crash it here?"

Thor disappeared into the bifrost before Wong got an answer.

Somewhere deep within Thanos' ship, Tony had the same idea. Running through the calculations in his head while they were under attack was not ideal. The ship had already stalled, but he needed to act quickly while they were still within the the orbit of the moon. Space was a callous bitch, but she obeyed the laws of physics. One wrong move and they will plunge themselves into deep space and die. He just needed to shift the ship enough so that it drifted into the gravitational pull of the moon. This had to work for him and Hermione to walk out of this alive.

Hermione's shield jolted. She saw Cull Obsidian ramming himself into it shocking himself with her magic. Thanos was content to let his two minions do all the work.

"You can't hide behind there forever," Ebony Maw goaded. He fired another barrage of spells, which dissolved into her shield weakening it.

"Your lack of cooperation is very telling," Thanos noted. "You have come here to sabotage us. To stop us. But from what I wonder."

"Surrender now and we may be merciful," Ebony Maw crooned. "In killing you that is. After all, criminal or not you are still children of Thanos."

Hermione maintained her resolve and her shield remained intact. "I don't bow down to the likes of you! What are you? A cult leader? Calling us your children as if you were God?" she spat. "I'm tired of dealing with you evil tyrants and your creepy sycophants!" A surge of energy reinforced her shield knocking Thanos and his order back. She may had been projecting some other unresolved feelings about Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the form of accidental magic, but it was not enough to do any lasting damage.

Unfazed, Thanos got up and chuckled."You have fire. I will give you that. You remind me of my daughter," he responded evenly like he was amused by her rant. There was something deeply unsettling about his calm cold demeanor.

She threw up another silencing spell."Tony? Please tell me you've figured this out," she tried to remain calm.

"I think so." He blew off the bolts of a large generator. No longer anchored, he gave it a nudge with a blast from his repulsor causing it to slide. At the same moment a force knocked both of them off their feet. The entire ship tilted and suddenly they were both falling backwards. Even Thanos and his minions were caught unaware. Whatever struck the ship came from the outside not them.

In the chaos Tony managed to catch Hermione midair. Covering her head out of instinct, he braced for impact as the ship hurled itself into the moon. Everyone inside the ship accelerated in the direction of the gravitational pull. At the last second Hermione wrapped a cushioned shield around them absorbing most of the force from the crash. Hermione shut her eyes while Tony hugged her tightly as her protective dome shook from the impact of the falling debris burying them.

* * *

The ship crashed onto the red earth having split into two from Thor's strike and Tony's handiwork when it entered the thin atmosphere. The dust cleared with Thanos emerging first only to be knocked down by Thor. He raised his axe going for the blow. Thanos blocked it gripping his arm crushing it. Thor roared in pain nearly dropping his axe. Lightning shot through his being hitting their target. Thanos' armor absorbed most of the damage. Enraged, Thanos punched his face sending Thor flying backwards.

Not breaking a sweat, Thanos said, "I know who you are. I thought it was only a matter of time until I run into the golden child." He rose to his full height. "Tell me, is that lying cheating brother of yours still alive?"

"You're going to pay for what you've done," Thor threatened wiping his face. His eyes turned white. He flew at him with Stormbreaker lightning struck hitting everything within a fifty foot radius.

Thanos blocked the attack grappling Thor. He threw him against the ship. Thor quickly recovered and tossed stormbreaker. It surged spinning through the air whipping lightning in every direction. Thanos ducked proving more agile than he looked only for Thor to appear in his face landing a few critical punches while he was distracted.

Catching his fists he forced Thor to the ground. He proceeded to pound the crap out him with his own fists. Thanos fought and killed with his bare hands. No one else in the universe can win against him in close range combat. Thor was as good as dead pinned underneath Thanos. Then he did something unexpected.

"I want to see if you're really a god," he said cruelly as he bashed in Thor's face, who was losing consciousness. "I want to see if you can bleed." He unsheathed a dagger to deliver the killing blow. "You're going to die now, Prince of Asgard." Thanos plunged his blade into Thor. It squeaked and became flaccid in his hand. Surprised that his weapon had transformed into a rubber chicken leaving Thor alive, he roared when Hermione jumped onto his back grabbing his neck.

"Get away from him!" she screamed into his ear. She tried to stone him with a rock she found bashing it over his head. When that didn't work she transfigured her rock into a garrote wire she used to choke him all while her charmed canaries pecked at Thanos eyes causing a general annoyance. Using her magic, she conjured up thick ropes and chains that snaked around his body constricting his limbs. Dropping the garrote wire she tried to pry off his helmet desperate to inflict harm on him in any way possible.

Thanos backed away from Thor clumsily. He thrashed until he threw her off.

She cushioned herself with magic as she landed and rolled onto her side.

"Nice tricks,  _witch_ ," he growled at her, "but that won't save you." He flexed and the ropes and chains burst into pieces falling to the ground.

She fired a volley of spells from the ground. His armor deflected it all scattering the multicolored light exploding around them. She threw up a shield just before some of her own magical shrapnel hit her.

He smiled ferally, "I'm going to kill you first, so your boyfriend can watch you die." He could tell by her frenzied and vindictive style of attack that Thor meant something to her.

"You'll have to catch me first!" Scrambling to her feet, Hermione ran into the wrecked ship taking advantage of the tight corners in the broken engine room to slow Thanos down, so she could think. They either needed to strip off his armor, so they could kill him or they needed to get off the moon right now.

The force field must be broken now, so they can apparate, but she had to find everyone first. Tony and Wong were somewhere battling Cull Obsidian and Ebony Maw. But a second thought occurred to her, so when she felt Thanos' hand close around her neck, she apparated taking him with her.

Thanos' scream shook the air.

Hermione tossed aside Thanos' dismembered arm. It had splinched from a gap in his armor when she reappeared.

Thanos dropped to his knees clutching his severed arm howling in pain.

Thor came from behind swiftly decapitating Thanos with a swing of his axe. His head rolled to Hermione's feet just as they disappeared.

"Thor!" she screamed panicking as her entire body dissolved into nothing right before his eyes. The time turner fell bouncing off a rock then onto the ground. The reverberations from the Vibranium rings shattered the glass blowing sand everywhere. It blended with the dry ground. All that remained was the broken time turner and the pair of gold bracelets lying on the ground.

Thor didn't move. He didn't speak. He didn't breathe.

Wong and Tony caught up to Thor having finished off Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian. Thanos' body laid at their feet. "What just happened?"


	22. Chapter 22

Tony tapped the tip of his marker against the glass leaving little black dots. The numbers and variables started to blur together as his eyes crossed from exhaustion, but they actually stopped making any sense days ago. He sighed slumping his forehead against the surface smearing the ink. He still hadn’t adjusted to the new schedule where the length of a day stretched on for weeks before darkness set in for an equal amount of time on this particular moon they chose to settle. Naturally, he used the extended daylight to work obsessively on the time paradox problem. He cursed himself for not packing any alcohol to drown out the days. After all Tony Stark was only addicted to two things.

 

“You have something on your face,” Wong said passively. He shuffled past Tony in the confined control area within Ebony’s Maw’s ship, which also happened to be their makeshift kitchen. For such a large spaceship it had very little walkable floor space. Tony would never design something like this he thought. The three of them basically lived in the giant spinning (thankfully grounded) hamster wheel with excessive interior overhead space. But the smaller ship survived the crash fully intact thus becoming their shelter for the remainder of their year long mission.

 

Thanos’ ship was almost completely destroyed, but it still carried an army of sleeping aliens half buried in the crash. Unfortunately because Sanctuary II had those dormant aliens they had to keep an eye on it so they remained on the small moon where Tony periodically made repairs. The last thing they wanted was to accidentally wake any of them up. They planned on rigging the carriers to Ebony Maw’s ship and sending them into a star or a black hole when their mission finally came to an end. But for now they were in damage control mode, so they concentrated on minimizing their impact to the timeline and that included isolating themselves, so that they don’t interact with anyone especially their past selves. They were the only three inhabitants on this tiny moon in the Andromeda Galaxy and sometimes tempers ran a little high.

 

“Oh? Getting another sandwich I see,” Tony said defensively. He scrubbed his forehead furiously.

 

Wong shrugged, “it’s lunchtime,” according to Wong’s internal clock anyways. “Would you like some?” he offered politely. 

 

Tony ignored his well meaning gesture instead decided to go on a rant,“well while you’ve been sitting on your ass-”

 

“Meditating,” Wong corrected him evenly.

 

“Doing nothing,” Tony accused. “Eating, sleeping, sitting some more, sleeping while sitting-”

 

“That’s meditation,” Wong repeated his patience unwavering.

 

Tony exhaled in frustration. “The point is that I have been killing myself trying to...” he turned back to the windshield scribbled with his equations, “beautiful mind this fucking problem!” He banged his fist against the glass dropping his marker bruising his hand.

 

That reference was lost on Wong.“You honestly think that will bring her back?” Wong pondered out loud while scratching his chin. “Maybe it’s unsolvable.”

 

“Nothing is unsolvable.” Tony dug his hands into his hair. He needed sleep. He was tired and irritable. “There is a solution to every problem, it just hasn’t been found yet.”

 

“A solution to death? You would be very rich, my friend. If you found an answer to that,” Wong said wisely.

 

Tony glowered at him, “I’m already rich.”

 

“I was just trying to help.” His stoic expression remained unchanged through Tony’s tirade.

 

Tony threw his hands in the air, “you’re right. She’s not coming back. But I need to know why.” 

 

“And what would that achieve?” Wong was not merely entertaining Tony out of boredom. He hoped that asking these questions would lead him to a different truth. 

 

Tony sighed,“I would have the answer.”

 

“For you or for Thor?”

 

A silence fell between them, while Tony contemplated Wong’s very loaded question. He turned back to the mess of numbers and variables. He honestly didn’t know what he was looking for. At first it was a way to bring Hermione back. Then when he figured out that wasn’t possible, he wanted an explanation as to why. The why would perhaps absolve himself of the blame, but then that would just leave Thor.  

 

“Okay, one of us has to go and talk to Thor,” Tony broke the silence first. “He’s been moping for weeks now. Rock, paper, scissors?” Tony suggested.

 

Wong didn’t budge, “he’s really more your friend than mine.”

 

Tony scrubbed his beard tiredly.“Ugh, I knew we should have brought Rogers instead,” he grumbled and went to look for Thor.

 

It took him less than five minutes to locate him in their tiny makeshift barrack. They suspected that Ebony Maw slept suspended upside down with his arms crossed over his chest vampire style. Luckily for them, Hermione had thought far enough ahead to pack sleeping bags and cots in her bottomless bags. He hadn’t known her for long, but he felt an unexpected loss. Not as acute as when Peter died, but enough for him to feel a tightening in his chest when he thought of her. He dare not say it out loud in front of Thor. No one was as affected as Thor, and Tony didn’t think he deserved to share in his pain.

 

Tony assumed that Thor had overheard the entire conversation between him and Wong. The ship had no partitions. It was like a really ugly exposed Brooklyn loft. “Thor,” Tony approached him, “Hermione is gone.”

 

“She’s not gone. She simply hasn’t arrived yet.” Thor laid on his back with an arm folded behind his head on a makeshift cot. His other hand dangled the broken time turner from its chain above his face. His gaze transfixed on the object as he were trying to will her back into existence.

 

“She disintegrated the moment we killed Thanos. That means something,” Tony asserted.

 

Snatching up the time turner in his hand, Thor suddenly sat up. “What day is today?” He meant what day it was on Earth.

 

“May 7, 2018,” Tony answered.  “Are you even listening?”

 

“I heard you.” He stood and walked away from the conversation.

 

“She’s not coming back, Thor. I think she was a paradox. Her and Thanos,” Tony called out to him. It was the only thing he was sure about. “Bruce was right. God only knows what else we messed up. We won’t know for sure until we get back to our time.”

 

Thor spun around and closed the distance between them. Enough that Tony felt the rage vibrating from Thor’s being. Thor grabbed Tony’s shirt collar roughly hoisting him up. He was a whole head taller than Tony. “This was your idea, remember?”  

 

Despite Thor’s palpitable anger, Tony didn’t shrink from his penetrating gaze. “And I’ll never forget it,” he choked out. 

 

Thor shoved him and walked away summoning the bifrost.

 

As if he had a death wish, Tony said one last thing, “I wasn’t the one who killed Thanos.”

 

Thor halted fists clenched, he looked over his shoulder but said nothing before turning and disappearing into the bifrost.

 

* * *

Norway was exactly as he remembered it, but warmer. He found the same abandoned cottage at the edge of the woods they had shared for that brief time. It looked exactly how he found it the first time. It must have been forgotten for some time. Thor had nothing but time. He dedicated the next few months to restoring the cottage, so that it was ready for Hermione’s arrival. He would make this their home again, he decided.

 

He started by building their bed out of the wood he harvested from the nearby trees. It needed to be large enough to accommodate his enormous size and strong enough to withstand their frequent lovemaking of course. 

 

She won’t know him, he realized. She would be afraid of him at first, but he knew she would gradually warm up to him like she had done before. Thor would be patient, but in time he would reveal everything to her. How they had met before. How she had helped them save the universe. How she saved him. How he came to love her.

 

Thor still remembered Loki’s spell along with the runes he painstakingly drew on Tony’s floor, so she would not have to be trapped in her wolf form for as long as last time. He even kept her bracelets that Eitri had made. He wore them around his right wrist as they adjusted to the wearer keeping them safe until their rightful owner returned. 

 

The size of their bathroom proved to be problematic because he could not fit a tub large enough for both of them and that was simply unacceptable. So Thor dug a sunken pool behind the cottage. It would require her magic to fill and warm, since Thor couldn’t work out the plumbing situation, but it was the thought that counted. He even built a high fence to enclose the bathing area knowing how modest and self conscious humans were about their unclothed bodies.

 

One day he noticed how bare the walls were in the sitting room, so he lined them with bookcases he made himself. Thor planned on stuffing them with every book he could find. He could just picture her reading by the fire until she nodded off and him carrying her to their shared bed.

 

The months rolled by slowly. Thor kept adding more and more to the house. He thought a nice little room where she could work and study was warranted. She had so much talent and potential. He couldn’t wait to reintroduce her to his mother again. He made a mental note to catch the snitch this time.

 

Then he couldn’t help himself. One last home project and it was his most ambitious one yet. He added a second level to the small house. Children would be a wonderful inevitability he thought. If she wasn’t with child already after the marathon of sex he planned for them the moment she changed back, she would be eventually when they settle into a routine that involved regular sex, twice a day minimum if he had his way. The possibility of creating a child with her alone he thought justified the extra space for a nursery. He wanted a family with her. He pictured their beautiful children having her eyes and her wild hair. They would grow to be big and strong like him. He would teach them how to use weapons and how to hunt and fish. She would teach them magic and everything else because she was the cleverer of the two. Their children would be unstoppable, but noble and good because they would have come from her, the future rulers of a new Asgard.

 

No more Thanos. No more dark wizards. He saw a life with her in that house. 

 

The weather had finally changed. Along with the drop in temperature came fall. Early morning on the last day of October, Thor stepped out of his finished house. He couldn’t wait for Hermione to come home at last.

 

He fastened the time turner around his neck. Axe in hand he started for the meadow. The weather was exactly as he remembered, chilly, damp, and overcast. The mist hugged the earth dampening the ground as it thickened into a fog.

 

Facing the exact spot she appeared one year ago, he waited. Minutes passed. No moment in his 1500 year old existence had ever felt so long. Then his ears picked up an unfamiliar sound of trampling hooves in the distance.

 

That was not right. Without another thought, Thor charged into the thick fog disappearing with Stormbreaker.

 

_ 3 weeks later. _

 

The weather was cold, but uncharacteristically sunny for a late November day. Off in the distance, the Statesman descended steadily losing altitude until it met the earth. It was a little less grand and a bit rougher than it had been as a passenger liner on Sakaar, but it did its job to completion. It held the most precious cargo in the universe. The last of the surviving Asgardian race. 

 

The door opened with a hiss releasing the cabin pressure. Thor took his first step onto the solid unmoving ground feeling the sun on his face inhaling the salty air. The breeze had a bite, but it was a welcomed feeling nonetheless especially after their long journey in space. Norway looked exactly how he remembered it, peaceful and undisturbed.

 

Loki, Heimdall, Hulk, and Valkyrie exited the ship following Thor. Despite being sequestered in space for nearly a year during their rather uneventful journey to Earth, the rest of the Asgardians were hesitant. A majority of them despite how long lived they were had never left Asgard.

 

“Well, it’s nice to not have to breath each other’s recycled air anymore,” Valkyrie commented as she descended the stairs of the ship. She took in her surroundings. The land was completely unsettled as far as she could see. “Where exactly are we anyways?” 

 

Thor stared at the spot where he witnessed Odin’s passing. In his place stood Loki looking out at the sea. When he turned around and met Thor’s eyes, he smirked.

 

Smiling in return Thor replied, “home.” 

 

**~End~**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone that took the time to review my story:) Your comments meant a lot to me. It’s both bittersweet and a relief to finish my first fic. The ending is very open. I haven't decided on whether or not to do an epilogue or a short sequel. I'm a little burnt out on this fic right now.


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